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The Country Managing Director of Deloitte Ghana, Daniel Kwadwo Owusu, has urged audit professionals to embrace technology and engage in continuous training in digitalization to stay abreast of the changing trends within the profession. According to him, failure to do so will render some of them redundant in the not-too-distant future. Presenting a paper on “Strategic Audit Leadership in a Digital World” at the 2025 Internal Audit Agency Conference, Mr. Owusu said digitalization is taking over the world, thus internal auditors need to leverage advanced technology to be effective, citing many government agencies such as the Driver Vehicle and Licensing Authority, Electricity Company of Ghana and Ghana Water Company, going automated. “The changes that technology is bringing is too swift and will catch up with us so soon. My advice is get ready for that. Start learning any tools that come your way, he told a packed room of auditors, both seniors and juniors. “If we are to make an impact, we cannot continue to do the same things every time. You cannot do the audit with the normal approach”, he stated. He added that digitalization increases efficiency, reduces the time spent on auditing, and ultimately reduces wastage. The New Mandate of Internal Auditors Continuing, Mr. Owusu said the work of internal auditors must complement digital governance and innovation, adding internal audit objectives, plans, procedures and approaches should evolve as technology evolves. He enumerated some digital innovative tools that auditors can embrace to enhance their work. They include Reveal, which assures revenue testing, Power BI, I-Confirm and PairD, a Deloitte Gen AI tool with similar functionality to the widely known ChatGPT. On the benefits of technology to the auditor, the Deloitte Ghana Boss said it increases audit quality, reduces time spent on repetitive tasks, and provides real-time assurances. In navigating digital risks, he called for the involvement of auditors early in the system design and control testing, over-reliance on automation, and investment in continuous training, digital literacy programmes for internal audit teams. Regarding strategic leadership action, he mentioned the development of a clear digital strategy. That comes with identifying areas that require digitalization and the investment into infrastructure, such as data analytical tools. He also highlighted enhancing data governance, such as establishing data privacy and industry-specific compliance requirements.
