Belief in AI’s potential to improve audit quality averaged 3.99 on a scale from 1 to 5, compared with 3.28 for willingness to present AI-assisted findings. This demonstrates a gap between optimism and stated willingness to act. Only 15% of respondents reported advanced AI ethics governance maturity within their organizations (scores of 4 or 5). Among the respondents who answered the AI audit coverage question, 30% indicated either no audit coverage of AI within their organizations or uncertainty about whether such coverage existed. Of the factors tested, the strongest predictor of reported AI audit coverage was ethics governance maturity (see Figure 17). Belief in AI’s potential and trust in AI results reviewed by humans, on the other hand, were consistent predictors of willingness to present AI-assisted findings and had no meaningful relationship with increases in reported audit coverage. Results indicate that audit coverage of AI may be constrained by governance maturity rather than by belief. >Continue Reading