I find it frustrating to see so many so-called experts calling for internal auditors to grab the latest technology, the latest being generative artificial intelligence (AI), and find a way to use it.
Let me tell you this: artificial intelligence is not always that intelligent!
Let me also tell you that you should only use technology when you know how it will be used and that there will be a positive Return on your Investment (ROI).
Taking that last point first, several years ago I was invited to meet the leaders of a large internal audit department in Detroit. (I will let you guess who.) They introduced the two leaders of their new Data Analytics team, who explained that they had purchased some great tools, hired several experts in their use, and were now starting to build analytics routines. They started with Accounts Payable and then the General Ledger. But they had no idea how the rest of IA would use their reports. It was a matter of buying a great hammer and then looking for nails without thinking about what needed to be built.
Now for the less-than-intelligent generative AI.
When ChatGPT first came out, like many others I decided to download and test it. One of the first things I did was to ask it who I was. It returned a decent description of my professional history, but nothing on my personal life (and…
