Artificial Intelligence in the Management of Audits, Checklists and Inspections.

Introduction

Internal auditing is a fundamental process to ensure the compliance, efficiency and effectiveness of an organization's operations. However, the traditional audit process can be time-consuming, laborious and prone to human error. Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionize audit management by automating repetitive tasks, providing valuable insights and improving decision-making.

In this article, we will explore how AI can be used in an audit management application to:

• Evaluate audit results: AI can automatically analyze audit results and identify areas of risk and opportunities for improvement. This can help auditors focus on the most critical areas and take more relevant corrective actions.
• Analyze the history of the audited unit:AI can analyze a specific unit’s audit history to identify recurring trends and areas of risk. This can help auditors focus on the areas that need the most attention and prevent problems.but future ones.
• Create targeted checklists: AI can be used as a mentor that provides instant access to standards and procedures, proposes checklists based on good market practices and thus assists in the parameterization of comprehensive and effective audits.

The implementation of AI in audit management can bring several benefits to organizations, such as:

• Increased efficiency: Automating repetitive tasks can free auditors to focus on more strategic activities.
• Improving the quality of audits: AI can help identify and fix errors more accurately.
• Cost reduction: Automating repetitive tasks and optimizing the audit process can significantly reduce costs.
• Improve decision making: AI can provide actionable insights that can help auditors make more assertive and strategic decisions.

AI is quickly becoming an essential tool for companies wanting to improve their audit processes. By implementing AI in audit management, organizations can increase the efficiency, quality and effectiveness of their processes, as well as reduce costs and make better decisions.

This article will provide a detailed guide on how AI can be used in audit management, including example use cases and the benefits that can be achieved. But first, we cannot fail to contextualize how AI has been treated in Popular Culture for decades.

From Golden Dream to Reality?

Civilized society has long yearned to use artificial intelligence to alleviate the burden of work, freeing the individual for recreational, creative and healthy activities. Since the beginning of the cinematic era, humanity has invested time and imagination in idealizing a world where machines perform tedious and even dangerous tasks in our place. Of course, fiction can also be used to create horror stories that explore the same theme. Some classic and self-explanatory references to what would be the golden dream of modern society can be found in cinematographic works such as:

• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968): Directed by Stanley Kubrick, this science fiction classic explores the relationship between humans and machines, with HAL 9000, an advanced artificial intelligence that becomes a threat to the crew of a spaceship. (MGM)
• Ex Machina (2014): A programmer is asked to test an incredibly realistic female artificial intelligence, leading to questions about the nature of consciousness and the ethics of AI. (Universal Pictures)
• Her (2013): A lonely man falls in love with an intelligent operating system, exploring the limits of love and human connection in an increasingly digital world. (Warner Bros.)
• Bicentennial Man (1999): A robot vacuum cleaner with advanced artificial intelligence learns and evolves over the centuries, seeking to become human and experience the world in all its fullness. (Columbia Pictures)
• WALL-E (2008): In a dystopian future where Earth is covered in trash, a lone robot is tasked with cleaning up the planet and ends up embarking on a space adventure that could save humanity. (Pixar Animation Studios)
• Robot & Frank (2012):In the near future, Frank is a retired jewel thief who lives alone and cannot adapt to technological changes. (Dog Run Pictures, Park Pictures, Stage 6 Films)

It is also important to mention the visionary work of Isaac Asimov (1920-1992), an author who explored in his works the implications of artificial intelligence and robotics on society. Asimov presented us with profound reflections on the challenges and opportunities that AI can bring to humanity, becoming a landmark in literature and inspiring debates to this day.

After exploring the popular imagination and its representations of artificial intelligence over the decades, it is time to direct our focus to the concrete advances and tangible benefits that AI already offers in the Quality Improvement segment. Through real and proven examples, we will explore how this innovative technology is transforming the way companies ensure the excellence of their products and services.

Tangible Challenges in Quality Management

With 25 years of experience in Computer Systems, expertise in the use of applications on mobile devices and analyzing hundreds of use cases in the use of Computer Quality Management Systems, we can mention some challenges already mapped and which can count on the use of Artificial Intelligence To solve them, let us mention a few:

Reduced Costs with Consultants and Gurus

For decades, the structuring and administration of quality control programs was the exclusive domain of consultants and gurus in the segment, as information and knowledge about standards and procedures were centralized. This scenario began to change with the popularization of the internet, which began the decentralization and distribution of information. This process now accelerates at a previously unimaginable pace, allowing quality technicians, through interactions with intelligent tools, to reach the same level of expertise that was previously restricted and costly. This paradigm shift tends to reduce costs with annual recycling, lectures and contracts with third parties.

Increased Engagement

By providing easy access to the knowledge base 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, AI boosts the engagement of technicians in Continuous Improvement, functioning as a motivator and driver of professional growth. Obviously, such a benefit will always depend on each person’s individual profile and willpower.

Speed and Consistency in Voluminous Assessments

If, on the one hand, Quality Management Systems facilitate the collection, compilation and distribution of Information, on the other hand, there is a need to add more audited areas, increasing the volume of data collected and overloading administrators in the tasks of analyzing the computed data. Artificial Intelligence (AI) emerges as a solution to analyze such a growing volume much faster, providing valuable insights in a timely manner.

Bias Mitigation

The audit of a unit goes beyond the mere verification of conformities and non-conformities. It requires in-depth knowledge of the company, the segment and the scenario for a contextualized and coherent assessment. However, throughout the audit cycles, a positive or negative bias may emerge on the part of the auditor in relation to the audited unit. Through an information capture system that describes the scenario found and analysis of the scenario through AI, it is possible to mitigate the interference of bias in the evaluation, resulting in an impartial analysis of what was audited.

Obviously, there are other challenges not mentioned that require viable and more reliable solutions than those that AI can provide today, whether due to security, cost and/or technological limitations. Among them, we must mention the Improvement of image recognition models using "Machine Learning".

Use Cases - The Infocapta Solution

Infocapta is a multi-segmental Quality Management Solution, which includes Program 5s and PDCA, allowing Quality Administrators and Auditors to carry out complete and detailed inspections quickly, safely and professionally. In it, the use of AI is a reality and meets the following challenges:

Reduced Costs with Experts, Gurus and Increased Engagement

The Solution provides an efficient and helpful Business Rules Assistant, which helps propose new checklists, taking into account standards and procedures and according to the organization's segment.

Speed and Consistency in Evaluating Collected Data

Infocapta provides analytical access to the audit carried out, taking into account the concepts, segment, responses and even standards involved. It also provides historical analytics on the audited unit, providing valuable indicators and insights quickly.

Bias Mitigation

Offering post-audit analysis, it can be used to compare the auditor's assessment with a second opinion, and may even indicate the need for auditor retraining.

As a cutting-edge Audit Management Solution, Infocapta continues to incorporate new trends that translate into benefits for users and their organizations. The new Artificial Intelligence capabilities that can add to this segment will certainly be incorporated very soon.

You can learn more about the benefits of Infocapta here

Conclusion

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing quality management, offering innovative solutions to the challenges companies face today. AI automates repetitive tasks, frees up time for strategic activities, increases the accuracy of analysis and quickly identifies risks. The future of Quality Management with AI is promising. Infocapta is at the forefront of this transformation, continually incorporating new trends in AI to deliver benefits to users and their organizations.