Lessons from Kodak, Blockbuster: Auditors Are Not Left Out of the Digital Revolution

AI, blockchain... are "redefining" the auditing profession

Speaking at the Workshop on sharing experiences and practices in the field of public auditing - applying technology in the auditing industry organized by the State Audit on May 22, Mr. Bui Quoc Dung, Deputy State Auditor General, said that currently, new technology trends such as artificial intelligence, big data, robotic process automation (RPA) and blockchain... are fundamentally changing the way of auditing.

Mr. Dung said that currently, AI can automatically scan and analyze 100% of transactions to detect abnormalities, instead of manual sampling methods.

Meanwhile, robotic process automation takes over repetitive tasks like data entry or reconciliation, allowing auditors to focus on more complex, strategic issues.

"This not only improves accuracy and work efficiency but also makes the auditing profession more attractive as staff are freed from boring tasks to take on high-value analytical and consulting roles," he said.

According to audit industry leaders, advanced data analytics has recently become a powerful tool to help auditors assess risks, identify material errors and draw valuable insights from massive unstructured data.

He said that the world's leading auditing firms are investing heavily in technology. For example, PwC announced a $1 billion investment in generative AI to pioneer the application of AI in auditing, tax and consulting. Some studies have even predicted that in the next few years, most of the procedural work in auditing can be automated up to 90% thanks to AI.

“This shows the level of disruption that technology will bring, and is also a warning that if we do not adapt, the traditional auditing profession itself is at risk of being left behind,” he said.

Deputy State Auditor General Bui Quoc Dung (Photo: BTC).

The Deputy State Auditor General said that Vietnam has advantages in young, dynamic human resources and a rapidly developing information technology platform. The auditing industry in Vietnam therefore has favorable conditions to apply the latest achievements of the digital revolution.

The State Audit has also piloted the application of AI in auditing activities in a thematic audit of investment, application of information technology software, and activities of hiring information technology services to serve digital transformation in a number of localities.

"AI has helped auditors analyze data and select audit samples more effectively; automatically updated legal regulations, compared and contrasted data on a large scale to have accurate and comprehensive assessments and supported auditors to draw more objective conclusions," he said.

Not keeping up with the trend will leave you behind.

Mr. Bui Quoc Dung said that history has shown that if you do not keep up with the trend, you will be left behind. He gave some examples in the field of technology.

Specifically, Kodak was once a "giant" in the film industry with 90% market share in the 1990s, but due to slow transition to digital imaging technology, it filed for bankruptcy in 2012. Blockbuster, once the world's largest video rental chain, also collapsed in 2010 because it failed to adapt to the online movie viewing trend initiated by Netflix.

"These examples show the cruelty of slow change. No matter how large the scale or high the position, it does not guarantee future success if we do not proactively innovate," he said.

According to him, if we ignore the strong wave of technology that is taking place, the public audit sector will become outdated in the face of the huge amount of data and complex financial transactions of the digital economy .

Mr. Bui Hoang Phuong, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, commented that at the present stage, the volume of data is also larger than before, both in scale and quantity.

Mr. Phuong said that e-payment platforms and e-commerce transactions generate billions of transactions every day, far exceeding the ability to process them manually. Random sampling - a common practice in auditing - is at risk of missing important violations hidden deep in the "sea of ​​data". This requires auditing to move from sampling to comprehensive analysis, where AI and machine learning become powerful assistants.

Mr. Bui Hoang Phuong - Deputy Minister of Science and Technology (Photo: Organizing Committee).

Mr. Phuong commented that in the field of auditing, digital transformation has fundamentally changed the way of working. With current technology, the auditing industry can monitor data in real time, detect abnormalities and risks to give early warnings.

Mr. Phuong said that in international practice, many countries have used AI in auditing. For example, Malaysia, thanks to AI, can audit 100% of the budget of 15 ministries instead of selecting samples. Norway uses AI to monitor finances, and Canada uses AI to analyze 100% of data, which helps reduce 40% of the time compared to traditional auditing. Mr. Phuong made some suggestions to the auditing industry in applying AI.

Specifically, according to him, AI is a broad field that helps auditors do many things, but to do it effectively, it is necessary to clearly define the goals and work that AI wants to perform.

In addition, the auditing industry needs to deploy technology quickly but pay attention to not lack of synchronization. He said that it is necessary to plan the connection between systems. In addition, Mr. Phuong said that it is necessary to build a data infrastructure to synchronize information. Accordingly, the centralized data system not only connects the State Audit but also connects with other State agencies.

In particular, he noted that not only relying on technology but also the human factor is very important. Accordingly, it is necessary to train digital human resources to meet the current needs of the industry. "Applying technology in auditing is not a choice but a vital requirement," he emphasized.

In the coming time, Mr. Phuong said that the State Audit needs to focus on building a digital transformation model with core components such as digital infrastructure, digital data, digital audit platform to process business systems, intelligent analysis and forecasting platform, intelligent management and monitoring system, staff capacity and enthusiasm.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/kinh-doanh/bai-hoc-tu-kodak-blockbuster-kiem-toan-khong-dung-ngoai-cuoc-cach-mang-so-20250522115230000.htm