Technology is not making auditors less relevant. If anything, it is expanding their role. Auditors have moved beyond testing individual transactions and are increasingly being asked to provide assurance over systems, data, sustainability information and, ultimately, digital trust.

The UK is a useful reference point. Regulatory scrutiny has intensified, expectations of audit quality have risen, and firms have adopted AI quickly. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) now publishes dedicated guidance on the use of AI in audit, which is a signal of how central technology has become to the way audits are planned, performed and reviewed.