CAG building infra & processes to harness AI&ML: Sanjay Murthy

Murthy said the CAG has also implemented state-of-the-art data analytic capabilities through its dedicated centre to enable analysis-driven audits

India's apex auditor is building the necessary infrastructure and processes to harness artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning for auditing processes and to audit AI applications themselves as the country aims to become a USD 30-trillion economy by 2047, CAG K Sanjay Murthy said.

Speaking at the World Forum of Accountants hosted by ICAI on Saturday, Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Murthy said a USD 30-trillion economy will be necessarily digital, as organisations expand into emerging areas, and global champions are born.

Accounting and auditing professionals will have to provide the required support.

"Adopting new technologies would help bring required efficiencies in the accounting and auditing processes. Taking a leadership role in developing and adapting innovative technological practices would also help Indian firms to become global champions," he said, while addressing the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) programme here on Saturday.

Underlining the key role of digital technology as a major enabler as well as disrupter, the CAG said the range of technological solutions that are now available have transformed the scale and potential at which organisations can achieve higher performance outcomes.

"For us, it's an exciting challenge as the India of 2025 moves towards becoming a Viksit Bharat of 2047 which aspires to have an economy of USD 30 trillion. More companies and larger government budgets cannot be handled by physically replicating existing structures and processes. Technology will have to be leveraged to keep up and deliver," he said.

The CAG's address covered the gamut of technology and innovation in auditing and accounting, pointing out how AI, machine learning, robotic automation and blockchain technology have revolutionised the field.

"The evolution of technology and adaptation will require a transformation in intellectual and infrastructural capacities," he said.

Referring to the recent 'The Future of Jobs Report 2025' by the World Economic Forum, Murthy noted how it has highlighted the drivers of transformation and skillsets needed in coming years.

"We have embarked upon a comprehensive digitisation journey. We are committed to further integrating advanced technologies to bolster audit capabilities. Recognising the transformative potential of AI and ML, we have already taken the leap of faith and started building necessary infrastructure and processes to harness these technologies to use them in auditing processes and to audit AI applications themselves," he said.

Talking about the CAG's digitisation journey, he said a major development is the implementation of the One IAAD One System (OIOS), an end-to-end Audit Information Management System (AIMS) and a web-enabled IT application that supports multiple languages, offers offline functionality, and includes a mobile application for audits in a fully digital environment.

Digital initiatives in areas of internal administration, including eHRMS and eOffice, have also been mainstreamed.

He said the CAG has also implemented state-of-the-art data analytic capabilities through its dedicated centre to enable analysis-driven audits.

Remote sensing techniques and image analytics have also been widely used. It will be our endeavour to access other applications for smoothening the process of auditing for greater transparency, Murthy added.

The World Forum of Accountants is an annual conference, and it was ICAI's turn as host this year.

The World Forum of Accountants brings together some of the brightest minds from among accountants, auditors, and finance professionals, business leaders and regulators of the accounting and auditing profession.