Experience beyond numbers

Transforming the audit through technology, AI, and human insight

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From our leaders

At PwC, we believe the audit should deliver more than an audit opinion—it should deliver an experience that’s uniquely yours. For clients and stakeholders, that means earlier audit insights, fewer disruptions, and greater transparency at each stage of the process.

Delivering that experience matters now more than ever. Regulations are evolving, global markets remain uncertain, and AI is helping reshape how businesses operate. Amid this change, the auditor should go beyond the numbers. The audit can provide deep insights to clients, so they can determine what comes next. That's why we take a human-led, tech-powered approach. People bring the judgment, skepticism, and curiosity that matter most. Technology amplifies their impact—highlighting risks sooner, streamlining evidence review, and enabling richer conversations. Responsible AI practices and guardrails are built in at every step, with professionals directing, supervising, and reviewing the work.

We’re investing in the next generation of audit—a global effort to help unify our people, tools and methodologies across PwC. This is fundamentally changing how our audits are conducted while enhancing the overall experience for our clients. These investments are already reshaping the experience by bringing risks into focus earlier, reducing disruptions through more seamless collaboration, and creating greater consistency across borders, industries, and reporting standards.

We're excited to share how this transformation is taking shape—from smarter planning and dynamic walkthroughs to earlier issue spotting, more connected collaboration, and responsible use of AI. Together, these advances are helping enhance audit quality while making the experience more transparent, more efficient, and more meaningful for those we serve.

The audit continues to anchor confidence in financial reporting—and it’s evolving into an experience that can deliver more enriched outcomes and strengthen governance and oversight.

Deanna Byrne

Assurance Leader, PwC US

Shawn Panson

Assurance Transformation Leader, PwC US

Assurance that gets you

Leading a business in today’s environment can be demanding. Risks emerge quickly. Information moves constantly. Every decision matters. That’s why we’re reshaping the audit experience, bringing together secure advanced technology and the critical thinking of our professionals.

Technology can help us spot potential issues earlier and ease the burden of repetitive tasks. But it’s people who make sense of those insights. Our teams bring professional skepticism, deep industry knowledge, and the perspective that only experience can provide.

For you as a client, this means an audit that feels less disruptive and more connected—where technology reduces friction, and people bring judgment that helps build confidence.

Technology that helps free your time to focus on what matters

PwC’s audit technology is purpose-built—equipping our auditors to deliver quality work while you move your business forward with confidence. Each capability is designed to improve the experience of our clients, accelerate the identification of audit insights, and reduce disruption to your business.

We’re modernizing the planning process and streamlining testing, so we’re not starting from scratch. Prior-year information is brought forward, so early discussions focus on what’s changed in your business and industry. Automated comparisons highlight new considerations and potential risks. This helps drive quick alignment on areas of focus, reducing rework, and supporting a more efficient audit process.

Tailored, dynamic walkthroughs adapt to your unique processes and controls rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all checklist. Walkthroughs can happen in real-time or asynchronously via secure voice, video, or text. Follow-up items are connected directly to testing steps and information requests, reducing duplication and clarifying the next steps.

Our tools can streamline the testing process through review and documentation of supporting schedules in real time, with appropriate human oversight. Potential gaps or mismatches are flagged earlier, enabling faster feedback loops and limiting surprises.

Advanced analytic models highlight unusual trends, anomalies, and relationships that may warrant closer review. This helps surface potential risks earlier and strengthen the evidence base supporting audit judgments.

An AI-enabled resource helps to provide answers to the latest complex accounting and reporting questions, giving auditors quicker and deeper access to trusted technical insights and supporting more meaningful discussions with your team.

A secure, centralized workspace makes it easier for your team to track requests, exchange information, collect audit data and monitor progress—without having to chase updates. Requests become more focused as the audit progresses, leading to fewer interruptions and more efficient communication.

Data is extracted, standardized, and transformed more consistently, helping prepare it for analysis without repetitive manual effort. This reduces the burden on you and your teams and supports a faster, more effective audit process.

Our teams are also continuously upskilling—building AI capabilities through firmwide training—so you benefit from more consistent, modern ways of working. We pilot and validate new capabilities before deployment and use controlled, secure environments governed by our quality and independence standards. Every use is directed, supervised, and reviewed by our professionals. And because we operate an open, flexible architecture and collaborate with leading technology providers, we’re able to evolve alongside innovation and stay future-ready.

These capabilities are helping reshape how audits are planned, executed, and delivered—leading to greater clarity, easier coordination, and a smoother client experience.

While technology enhances capability, people remain central to the audit

Throughout the audit, every judgment, conclusion, and signoff is made by our professionals. At PwC, we invest heavily in upskilling our professionals to equip them with the tools and knowledge to adopt technology responsibly and effectively.

Our audit professionals average more than 90 hours of training each year, including over 50,000 total hours of AI-specific training in FY25. Auditors receive formal training in AI, hands-on experience with tools, and coaching in real-world scenarios—all while upholding the highest professional standards.

Conclusions and recommendations are informed by technology but guided by human expertise. Decisions and signoffs remain human-led, with AI-powered methods reinforcing the trust, quality, and transparency you expect from PwC.

Supporting your AI transformation

As AI becomes more deeply embedded in financial reporting and business operations, the role of auditor is rapidly evolving. We’re here to help you respond to this shift by applying the same professional rigor, independence, and skepticism that have long defined our assurance work—now extended to AI systems.

Through our Responsible AI services and PwC’s first-to-market solution providing Assurance for AI, our teams actively serve organizations like yours by evaluating how AI is governed, integrated, and controlled. This includes assessing AI governance programs, identifying risk across the AI life cycle, and offering independent, evidence-based insights into whether your AI systems are operating as intended—and aligned with emerging expectations around transparency, safety, and accountability.

Whether you’re deploying machine learning models in finance or integrating AI into operational workflows, PwC provides the frameworks, testing approaches, and independent assurance you need to navigate AI with confidence.

We adapt our human-led, tech-powered approach to your assurance needs

PwC’s approach to audit innovation is designed to help your business address complexity and uncover new opportunities. When you work with us, you benefit from:

  • More predictable timelines: Real-time visibility and earlier issue spotting help reduce bottlenecks and surprises, keeping work on track.
  • Greater visibility into risk: Early detection of issues supports stronger oversight and governance.
  • More effective collaboration: Integrated tools and centralized communication help reduce delays and confusion.
  • Enhanced audit quality: Technology helps our people focus on judgment instead of mechanics while maintaining the rigor, independence, and trust you expect from us.

At PwC, we’re committed to delivering an audit that provides an experience beyond numbers, and we work with your overall business in mind. That means we make connections, evaluate implications and deliver audit insights that can spark new ways of thinking as you seek to evolve your business.

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