@Elliott D. @Junho K.

12 March, 2025 16:47

Hello. Audit is very much so built on the model that you learn as you work - you'll go to college and learn the theory, and we'll train you in various different skills (including a week-long 101 audit course after you first join). Honestly there is a lot to learn and the best thing that you can do when you've joined is ask lots of questions to the second years, associates and managers that you're working with. In terms of preparation beforehand, the best thing you can do is brush up on your excel skills as you'll spend a lot of your time in your first few years using excel. Those who already have experience in excel tend to hit the ground running a lot better than those who haven't before.

12 March, 2025 16:50

@Elliott D.Thank you for your response. My audit module at university focused a lot on the implications AI will have on the profession and I found this area particularly interesting, are you able to give a little insight on how EY is utilising AI technologies in their audits?

12 March, 2025 16:56

Of course, and to be honest I imagine our use of AI will have moved on even by the time you start. AI has hugely helped to automate a lot of the processing tasks that would normally be completed by a first year associate or even our offshore resources, but using AI tools means that your role will be a lot more interesting and using judgement than when I joined in 2017. One tool I use every day is EYQ - this is a closed version of ChatGPT that we're allowed to use in our jobs, it helps with mundane jobs like writing or proofreading emails, but also with researching specific client or industry knowledge or accounting matters. We've still got to be really careful with hallucination as AI isn't foolproof, but it helps cut down a lot of the more boring jobs we may have to do. Very recently we've also started to rollout Microsoft Copilot which I'm just now getting to grips with, which is embedded in our Microsoft apps (including Teams).

12 March, 2025 17:02

In terms of audit-specific tools, a tool called DataSnipper was recently introduced which has massively reduced the time it takes to document audit evidence.

12 March, 2025 17:03

A side I've not talked about is how our clients are using AI - this is a very live topic that I was talking to someone in our automation tool about this morning, and one that is moving every week. We've got to be very careful when our clients are using AI to make sure that we understand how it interacts with their systems, what the additional risks are to both the business and our audit, and ensuring that we have people with the right knowledge to support audits that involve AI.

12 March, 2025 17:04

@Elliott D. Thank you for this in depth response. I agree with the importance of avoiding an almost over-reliance on AI as it is ultimately still in relatively infant stages and far from errorless. Would you say that tools like DataSnipper allow you to widen the scope of the audit while keeping it within the same timeframe and allowing auditors to exert more focus on areas like going concern, fraud, the client's internal systems etc...? I think that is a very interesting point regarding the fact that how clients are using AI must be factored into consideration now while conducting an audit.

12 March, 2025 17:17

In the same conversation this morning we also talked about the concern of over-reliance, especially for juniors who are just starting and the fear is that they may lose some of the research skills that they would have developed without these AI tools. However the firm isn't running too fast with these tools. When I was promoted to Manager in 2023 we had a conference in Dublin where there was a lot of focus on AI - the feeling is that our roles will develop and to be successful in the future we need to embrace AI tools now and be part of the revolution.

12 March, 2025 17:20

You're correct on widening the scope - it allows us to spend a lot more time on both higher risk and judgmental areas like going concern / impairment, as well as giving us the opportunity to do more value-add work like giving recommendations about internal processes and business strategy. This is the more exciting part of the role that almost feels more like an advisory role.

12 March, 2025 17:21