Exploring auditors’ perceptions of artificial intelligence adoption in professional evolution: Navigating threats and opportunities

This Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly compelling the auditing profession to re-evaluate its long-standing professional models. The picture that emerges from the existing literature remains unclear as to what auditors themselves think about this technology or how it shapes their role and identity as professionals. The foremost aim of this study is to investigate how auditors perceive AI and whether they regard it as a threat or an opportunity for their professional field. Drawing on 25 semi-structured interviews with experienced auditors from 14 countries, the analysis reveals a genuinely complex picture: auditors recognise AI’s power to drive efficiency while simultaneously harbouring concern for their professional identity and a sense that significant disruption lies ahead. They acknowledge that AI outperforms them in certain tasks yet frame it as a tool for professional adaptation rather than an obstacle. This challenges the common assumption that new technology is inevitably met with resistance. The study extends the UTAUT2 model by integrating professional identity dimensions, proposing the UTAUT2-PI framework specifically adapted to established professions confronting disruptive technologies. A key practical implication is that the profession must urgently rethink its training and standards not merely to help auditors adapt, but to actively cultivate a hybrid skill set merging core audit expertise with AI proficiency. Keywords: Artificial intelligence; auditors; UTAUT2; technology acceptance; professional identity.