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How Drones are Being Used in Auditing

Auditors are harnessing the latest technology and resources to improve and increase the effectiveness and efficiency of their important work.

drones

So, what better way to incorporate technology into an audit…use drones! After all, we see drones being used everywhere these days. They take pictures and videos for the real estate industry and capture live events like concerts and sports games from impossible angles. They are even being used to deliver small packages. Drones provide a different perspective to the audience that no other technology can provide. That’s why companies are investing in using them in all kinds of exciting ways.

Many of the public accounting firms are also using drones to help make financial statement audits more effective and efficient. With advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence and data analytics, drones can be used for a variety of tasks in the audit. For example, drones can assist the firm staff with accounting for items in hard-to-reach places.

In a recent article in Accounting Today, the audit innovation lead at Deloitte described how his firm is using technology such as drones for audits: “The drones are about having digital technology on something that’s very small. With a little drone aircraft that you can control, you can put a camera on it and get a feed on what the drone sees and you can send it to places where you wouldn’t send a person. So if you want to do something like looking at the reading on top of a grain silo, you could send a drone up there without having to send your staff out in the middle of the country to climb up the silo to take that measurement. Because the cost has come down so much, it can be a really effective way to get people to places that are difficult to get to.”

CAQ Governing Board with a drone

Last April, the CAQ Governing Board got together to highlight how the audit profession is committed to innovation and using technology (e.g., drones) to get ahead of the curve. Check out the video below to see the board in action with one of the latest drones!