Accounting, Auditing and Accountability
Summary
Accounting, auditing and accountability form the core of trustworthy organisational reporting and governance. Accounting involves the systematic recording, classification and disclosure of financial transactions to inform stakeholders and support decision-making. Auditing provides independent assurance on the accuracy of financial statements and the effectiveness of controls, while accountability describes the obligation of management and auditors to explain decisions and accept responsibility for outcomes. Recent trends have seen the rise of risk-based and continuous auditing, advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence tools, alongside an expansion of accountability to embrace non-financial disclosures, sustainability and stakeholder engagement. Together, these interlocking disciplines underpin confidence in institutions, guide investment and promote responsible stewardship worldwide.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent studies have explored the transformative potential of artificial intelligence within internal audit functions. A systematic review proposes the CACS framework—Commitment, Access, Capability and Skills development—to guide effective AI adoption in internal audit. This work highlights AI’s affordances for automating routine procedures, enhancing strategic oversight and enabling predictive risk assessments, while emphasising the importance of updated professional standards and regulatory guidance to preserve independence and professional scepticism. By offering a structured research agenda, these findings lay a theoretical foundation for integrating AI into audit workflows, informing practitioners, regulators and technology providers about best practices and emerging challenges.
Accounting, Auditing and Accountability publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in accounting, auditing and accountability across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Internal audit function: An independent department within an organisation tasked with evaluating and improving risk management, control and governance processes.
Audit quality: The likelihood that an audit will detect and report material misstatements in financial statements.
Continuous monitoring: The use of automated analytics to evaluate transactions and controls on an ongoing basis.
Risk-based auditing: An approach to audit planning that directs resources to areas with the greatest risk of material misstatement.
Professional scepticism: An auditor’s mindset characterised by inquiry, critical assessment and vigilance in gathering audit evidence.
Artificial intelligence (AI): Computational techniques that learn patterns from data to automate tasks such as anomaly detection and predictive modelling without explicit programming for each scenario.
References
- Artificial intelligence and the future of the internal audit function. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2024).
- Monitoring and audit quality: Does quality standards compliance matter?. Cogent Business & Management (2024).
- Can industry information disclosure improve audit quality?. China Journal of Accounting Research (2023).
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