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AI in Assurance: Can You Trust It, Govern It, Defend It?

As artificial intelligence becomes increasingly embedded in business processes and audit workflows, internal auditors are facing a broader set of questions around how AI is used, governed and relied upon.

The webinar “AI in Assurance: Can You Trust It, Govern It, Defend It?” held on 20 August 2026 explored these considerations from an assurance perspective, focusing on what it means for AI assisted work to remain trustworthy, reviewable and defensible. The discussion highlighted that AI adoption is not simply a technology decision. As AI takes on more tasks and becomes capable of acting across workflows, internal auditors need to consider the quality and reliability of its outputs, the controls surrounding its use, and where accountability and professional judgement ultimately sit.

For internal audit, this has practical implications. AI assisted work still needs to be supported by appropriate evidence and professional judgement, with processes that allow conclusions to be explained, reviewed and challenged. This becomes particularly important where AI is used in areas that may be subject to management, client or regulatory scrutiny.

As organisations continue to explore and expand their use of AI, internal audit can play an important role in providing assurance over how AI is governed and used responsibly. The ability to ask the right questions around trust, oversight and defensibility will be increasingly important as AI becomes a more familiar part of the working environment.