Artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing the work of auditors. As technology takes over more routine tasks, the profession isn't just changing what auditors do—it's changing what they need to know, how they learn, and how they develop professional judgment. So how do you prepare future auditors for a profession that is evolving faster than ever?
This is the third and final article in the conversation between Arno Schalck (PIA Group) and Prof. Dr. Niels van Nieuw Amerongen RA (Nyenrode Business University). The first two articles explored the impact of AI on the audit profession and the balance between technology, quality, and professional judgment. This final installment focuses on educating the next generation of auditors.
Why are knowledge and skills shifting in the age of AI?
"You can already outsource the search for information to AI—but you still need to evaluate the quality of what it produces." — Arno Schalck
One of the biggest changes is the evolving role of knowledge itself.
For decades, success in auditing depended largely on building deep technical expertise. Today, access to knowledge is no longer the challenge. The internet made information widely available, and AI takes this one step further by searching, organizing, and even summarizing information on our behalf.
As a result, the auditor's role changes fundamentally. The question is becoming less What do you know? and more What can you do with the information you're given?
According to Schalck, that makes critical thinking more important than ever. "You can already outsource the search for information to AI—but you still need to evaluate the quality of what it produces."
Skills such as critical thinking, asking the right questions, recognizing context, and exercising sound professional judgment are becoming increasingly valuable.
Van Nieuw Amerongen believes this is exactly where the future of auditing lies—not in collecting information, but in understanding and interpreting it.
How is auditor education changing?
"Theory and practice are no longer separate. We've integrated academic learning and practical training into a single program." — Prof. Dr. Niels van Nieuw Amerongen RA
Today's young professionals need a broader combination of skills than previous generations.
According to Van Nieuw Amerongen, that actually makes the profession more attractive. As auditing becomes more complex, it also offers greater opportunities for personal and professional development.
That requires a different approach to education.
At Nyenrode Business University, the postgraduate auditor program has already been redesigned to better reflect professional practice.
Instead of separating theory from practical experience, both are fully integrated.
Students work on real audit challenges from their day-to-day work and discuss them throughout the program. Because the curriculum follows the phases of the audit process, participants can immediately apply what they learn in practice.
This creates a continuous feedback loop between learning and doing, making education directly relevant while accelerating professional growth.
Technology also plays a central role—not as a standalone subject, but as part of how problems are approached and solved.
Why does integrated thinking matter for future auditors?
Another important concept introduced by Van Nieuw Amerongen is integrated thinking.
Future auditors must be able to combine multiple perspectives before reaching a well-supported professional judgment. That means understanding stakeholder interests, recognizing different viewpoints, and weighing them carefully before making decisions.
According to Schalck, this is exactly where AI and human expertise complement each other. AI can gather and organize information, but only auditors can place that information in context and translate it into sound professional judgment.
Technology doesn't replace thinking—it demands better thinking.
Will AI make it harder for junior auditors to gain experience?
While AI creates enormous opportunities, it also introduces an important long-term challenge.
Traditionally, junior auditors developed expertise by performing repetitive tasks before gradually taking on more complex work. Those early experiences helped build pattern recognition and professional judgment.
If AI increasingly performs those routine activities, how will future auditors gain the same experience? Schalck considers this one of the profession's biggest challenges.
Developing professional judgment will require new ways of learning, including more intensive coaching, closer collaboration with experienced colleagues, and deliberately creating learning moments that go beyond simply completing tasks.
Van Nieuw Amerongen also expects changes in organizational structures. The traditional pyramid model will remain, but relationships between experienced professionals and junior talent will become even more important because expertise can no longer develop naturally through routine work alone.
To address this, Nyenrode's integrated program combines supervision from both academic faculty and workplace mentors with peer learning, allowing student trainees to learn from each other's experiences—a method already widely used in professional audit practice.
What skills will tomorrow's audit teams need?
"You need breadth, but you also need depth in one area. That combination makes teams stronger." — Arno Schalck
The composition of audit teams is changing as well.
Auditing is becoming less of a standalone discipline and increasingly a collaboration between multiple areas of expertise. Alongside auditors, teams now include data analysts, IT specialists, cybersecurity professionals, and potentially AI experts.
Future auditors will need to collaborate effectively with these specialists—and often lead multidisciplinary teams.
Schalck connects this to the concept of the T-shaped professional: someone with broad knowledge across multiple disciplines combined with deep expertise in one specific area.
"You need breadth, but you also need depth in one area. That combination makes teams stronger—not because everyone knows everything, but because the collective expertise becomes broader and deeper."
How can education keep up with AI?
"Before the ink is dry, technology has already moved on." — Prof. Dr. Niels van Nieuw Amerongen RA
Technological innovation is moving faster than traditional education models can adapt. As Van Nieuw Amerongen puts it: "Before the ink is dry, technology has already moved on."
That means education and professional practice can no longer operate independently. Instead, they need an ongoing dialogue in which new experiences, practical insights, and technological developments continuously inform one another.
Learning is becoming a lifelong process rather than something that ends after graduation.
What will the auditor of 2030 look like?
There is no single answer.
Van Nieuw Amerongen envisions what he calls the "super auditor": a professional who understands technology, uses AI intelligently, connects complex information, and creates value beyond compliance. This future auditor doesn't simply perform audits but also advises clients, interprets complex situations, and helps organizations make better decisions.
Schalck is more cautious. "What will the auditor of 2030 look like? I honestly don't know." That uncertainty reflects the pace of technological change.
Even so, he does see several clear trends. Future auditors will work more closely with clients, spend less time on routine audit tasks, and increasingly focus on providing insights and advice. Assurance remains at the core of the profession, but it will be complemented by broader responsibilities and greater strategic value.
Technology won't replace auditors—it will enable them to deliver better insights, respond faster, and create more value.
What does the future of auditing require?
One conclusion stands out throughout this conversation.
AI is not simply another technological innovation. It is transforming every aspect of the audit profession—from day-to-day work to professional education, from individual careers to organizational structures, and from firms to the profession as a whole.
Preparing the auditor of 2030 requires closer collaboration between universities, audit firms, and the wider profession.
The partnership between PIA Group and Nyenrode Business University illustrates how academia and practice can work together to experiment, learn continuously, and shape the future of auditing.
Key Takeaways
- AI is changing the auditor's role from performing routine tasks to interpreting information and exercising professional judgment.
- Technical knowledge alone is no longer enough. Critical thinking, professional skepticism, and contextual decision-making are becoming essential skills.
- Auditor education must evolve by integrating academic learning with hands-on experience from day one.
- Future auditors need integrated thinking to combine financial, technological, and stakeholder perspectives.
- AI creates a new challenge for junior auditors: gaining experience and developing professional judgment without relying on repetitive work.
- Audit firms will increasingly rely on multidisciplinary teams that bring together expertise in auditing, data analytics, IT, cybersecurity, and AI.
- Continuous collaboration between universities and practice is essential to keep pace with technological change.
Read the previous articles in this series
Prof. Dr. Niels van Nieuw Amerongen RA is the PIA Group Netherlands Professor of SME Accounting at Nyenrode Business University. He is affiliated with Nyenrode’s Faculty Expertise Center for Accounting, Auditing & Control. The chair held by Van Nieuw Amerongen is sponsored by PIA Group.
More information about sponsored chairs.
Arno Schalck is Group Chief Technology Officer of PIA Group.
PIA Group is an accounting and advisory group focused on serving small and medium-sized accounting firms. Its approach combines deep expertise in areas such as accounting, audit, tax advisory, and business consulting with a strong commitment to personal service. Since its founding in 2012 by Steven Brouckaert, PIA Group has grown into an international organization operating across the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. The group comprises more than 75 offices and employs over 3,000 professionals, including more than 1,450 in the Netherlands.