Propensity factors of artificial intelligence technology adoption by public sector auditors

Purpose Data mining (DM) represents an example of artificial intelligence (AI) technology aimed at discovering patterns, trends, correlations or other useful information in large sets of data. The potential of this technology can be applied in different fields, including auditing. DM helps in activities such as fraud detection, data extraction, querying, manipulation analysis, risk assessment, data summarization, high-risk transaction and unusual item detection, continuous monitoring, data analytics, key performance indicator tracking and identifying trends in transactions (Amani and Fadlalla, 2017; Cardoni et al., 2020; Gray and Debreceny, 2014; Pap & iacute;k and Pap & iacute;kov & aacute;, 2020). Yet, despite the usefulness of DM, its adoption is low (De Almeida and Pedrosa, 2011). This study aims to investigate the drivers of DM adoption by auditors within supreme audit institutions (SAIs). The latter face a lot of pressure from stakeholders to adopt sophisticated technologies and thereby improve the performance of their auditing activities (Otia and Bracci, 2022).Design/methodology/approachTo address this topic, this paper adopts an explorative approach. We use a dual-factor perspective, which investigates both the enabling and inhibiting factors that lead to technology adoption or resistance. We combine the technology acceptance model and status quo bias theory. We collected a total of 206 questionnaires and analyze the results by applying structural equation modeling.FindingsThis paper contributes to the literature by identifying various elements that explain resistance to the introduction of DM in SAIs. This is useful in practice for accelerating digital transformation (Otia and Bracci, 2022) and addressing the demands for greater accountability in SAIs (Cordery and Hay, 2019).Originality/valueThe results contribute significantly to defining the key elements necessary to reduce resistance toward AI implementation in this field. By addressing both the enablers and barriers, the study provides a foundational framework for understanding how AI can be effectively integrated into public auditing, supporting the move toward digital transformation.