The Impact of AI Adoption on Professional Judgment in Auditing Practices

Abstract

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into auditing practices represents a
paradigm shift, fundamentally altering the nature of professional judgment—the cornerstone of the auditing profession. While existing literature predominantly focuses on
the efficiency and accuracy gains from AI, this research investigates a more nuanced and
underexplored consequence: the transformation of the auditor’s cognitive role and the
emergence of a new, hybrid form of judgment we term ’augmented professional judgment.’ This paper presents findings from a longitudinal, multi-method study involving
147 auditors across Big Four and mid-tier firms, combining quantitative analysis of audit decision logs with in-depth qualitative interviews and cognitive task analysis. We
introduce a novel theoretical framework that conceptualizes the auditor-AI interaction
not as a simple tool-use relationship, but as a dynamic cognitive coupling. Our results
reveal a tripartite impact: (1) a significant reallocation of cognitive effort from routine
data processing to complex anomaly interpretation and hypothesis generation, (2) the
emergence of new cognitive biases specific to AI-augmented environments, including
’automation complacency’ and ’algorithmic anchoring,’ and (3) a critical dependency
on the auditor’s ability to maintain ’meta-judgment’—the capacity to critically evaluate and contextualize AI-generated insights. Contrary to fears of deskilling, we find
evidence of a skill bifurcation; while procedural skills diminish in importance, skills
in probabilistic reasoning, AI literacy, and ethical oversight become paramount. The
study concludes that successful AI adoption in auditing hinges not on replacing human
judgment, but on strategically redesigning audit processes to foster synergistic humanAI collaboration, thereby elevating, rather than eroding, the professional judgment
that underpins audit quality and public trust. This research provides original contributions to the fields of auditing, human-computer interaction, and the philosophy of
professional expertise in the age of intelligent systems.