In October 2023, the European Court of Auditors (ECA) launched an internal discussion on adopting artificial intelligence (AI) with the publication of the paper “Opportunities and challenges in responding to and using artificial intelligence.” Building on this, the ECA has now released a follow-up document that delves deeper into AI’s potential for transformation, outlining a preliminary strategy and deployment roadmap. This strategy aims to integrate AI into the ECA’s work in a structured manner while providing foundational input for the next institutional strategy.
Although AI holds immense transformative potential, the ECA emphasizes that it will not replace the critical thinking and professional judgment of its auditors. Instead, AI will act as a tool to augment the capabilities of staff, enabling more timely, efficient, and soundly-based audits. To maintain ethical integrity, the ECA pledges to prioritize transparency, minimize biases, and uphold professional skepticism in its AI initiatives. These efforts will remain grounded in its core values of independence, objectivity, integrity, transparency, and professionalism.
The document clarifies two key aspects: the use of AI for audit purposes and the auditing of AI systems themselves. It also sets ambitious goals for the responsible integration of AI technologies into auditing practices while addressing potential risks. To this end, the ECA has proposed a concrete roadmap with specific actions to ensure a safe and effective implementation of AI.
Download the full document here!
