Relationship between Artificial Intelligence (Ai) and Fraud Detection in the Audited Financial Statement.

The relevance of AI in audit practice particularly in fraud detection had been persistently considered among auditors that were adequately familiar with the use of AI in audit investigation. This was due AI was effective in detecting fraud intelligently committed by the prepares of financial statement faster than manual test comparison. This study explored the effect of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the detection of fraud by auditors in audited financial statements. To accomplish this objective, the researchers adopted a descriptive research design and selected a sample of 396 auditors from the Big Four audit firms. A structured questionnaire served as the data collection instrument and was distributed to the selected participants. Out of the 396 questionnaires distributed, 350 were duly completed and returned for analysis. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, specifically mean and standard deviation, as well as inferential statistics through the application of the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression technique. The results of the analysis showed a significant positive relationship between the use of AI and the effectiveness of fraud detection. Based on the findings, the study concluded that AI improves the ability of auditors to detect fraud. It was recommended that the use of AI should be encouraged and widely adopted among auditors in Nigerian accounting firms.