Audit Office to use AI to speed up investigations and identify red flags

The Audit Office plans to introduce artificial intelligence to accelerate its work, identify potential irregularities and free up auditors to conduct more on-site inspections, auditor-general Andreas Papaconstantinou said on Friday. Presenting the office’s 2027 budget to the House finance committee, Papaconstantinou said a major co-funded project, known as AuditAI, was being planned to allow AI to carry out preliminary assessments and identify potential warning signs, or “red flags”, requiring further investigation. He said the technology would help speed up audits and the preparation of reports, allowing staff to devote more time to inspections and other substantive work. The Audit Office has so far submitted 31 reports and five memoranda in 2026, with another 23 reports in progress.

Papaconstantinou said the target was to publish between 45 and 50 reports by the end of the year, potentially releasing two reports a week. The office’s proposed budget for 2027 stands at €12. 06 million, an increase of approximately €810,000, or 7. 2 per cent, compared with €11. 26 million in 2026. Personnel costs account for 82 per cent of the budget, while 7. 5 per cent is allocated to consultancy services and five per cent to software purchases. Funding has also been allocated for staff training in Cyprus and abroad to improve the early identification of risks, strengthen accountability and ensure more efficient management of public resources. Papaconstantinou said the office’s budget focused on improving internal operations, strengthening cooperation, making better use of staff expertise and completing audits more quickly and to a higher standard. Addressing staffing arrangements and salary scales, he said consideration had been given to practices elsewhere in the public sector,…