Author: Achim Korten, February 2026
Will AI destroy auditing? No. But it will show who can be replaced.
The future of auditing:
-> Samples disappear. AI analyses 100% of all bookings.
-> Annual audit cycles become relics. Continuous assurance takes over.
-> The mechanics disappear into algorithms. Only the professional judgement remains.
How do you stay relevant as an auditor?
1. CFOs pay for trust, not for checklists.
2. stakeholders trust the inspector who inspects the machine - not the machine itself.
3 AI finds anomalies. The examiner explains what they mean.
4. audits happen in real time, not at the end of the year.
5 Whoever signs the certificate remains responsible.
The audit process becomes invisible.
The examiner's judgement will be everything.
The inconvenient truth:
Anyone who only checks figures today will be replaced tomorrow.
Those who build trust remain indispensable.
The era of bean counting ends.
The era of professional judgement begins.