College of Business associate professor Angel R. Otero is exploring how artificial intelligence could affect the world of financial auditing and information systems.
Otero, a certified public account (CPA), certified information systems auditor (CISA), and certified fraud examiner (CFE), among other certifications, with postgraduate degrees in accounting and information systems, has a unique perspective on the intersection of accounting and technology.
In a conference presentation last year and as co-author of a recent article in the journal Current Issues in Auditing, he explores what happens when AI is utilized in financial statement audits.
What does happen? In short, AI can help increase audit efficiency in data processing, predictive analysis and more to increase overall audit quality and effectiveness, but it can also potentially lead to issues with data security and privacy, regulatory compliance, source data verification and more.
At the Academic and Business Research Institute Virtual Conferences last year, Otero presented, “Financial Statement Audits: Literature Review Regarding Advantages and Disadvantages for Accounting Firms When Employing Artificial Intelligence.”
“According to the reviewed literature, addressing challenges…requires collaboration between human auditors and the artificial intelligence platform, implementation of rigorous security measures, validation processes, and bias mitigation strategies,” Otero wrote in the manuscript accompanying his presentation. “Despite these challenges, the literature argues that efficiencies may be gained from incorporating ChatGPT in financial statement audits resulting in a strategic investment for accounting firms seeking to enhance audit efficiency and effectiveness.”
The February 2025 journal article, “Benefits and Drawbacks of Incorporating ChatGPT in Financial Audits,” originated as a research assignment submitted last April by master’s student Michael Agu in Otero’s BUS 5437 Information Systems Auditing/Control course, a core course in the business college’s Master of Science in Accounting and Financial Forensics program. Recognizing the paper’s potential, Otero collaborated with Agu to refine the manuscript through multiple review cycles, leading to its acceptance and publication earlier this year. BUS 5437 is taught using Otero’s own textbook, “Information Technology Control and Audit (5th edition).”
