The proprietary analytics and automation platform aims to shift the firm toward a data-led model by automating transactional tasks and surfacing real-time risks.
Audit and assurance firm Grant Thornton LLP has launched gtap, a proprietary audit infrastructure designed to redefine the firm's audit processes through artificial intelligence and automation. Short for Grant Thornton Analytics & Automation Platform, the tool marks a shift toward agent-assisted audit execution, allowing the firm's U.S. professionals to move away from traditional, labor-intensive manual procedures.
Built from the ground up, gtap serves as a cloud-based core for audit delivery, standardizing how data is ingested and analyzed across various ERP systems. The platform embeds analytics directly into the audit life cycle, creating a unified data foundation that automates workpapers and enables full-population analysis. This secure environment replaces previously fragmented tools with a streamlined, scalable workflow that allows for AI-driven automation of routine transactional activity.
"This represents one of our most significant investments in the future of audit," said Ron Messenger, CEO of Grant Thornton LLP. "We are transforming how we audit and how we serve our clients, moving toward a data-led model that improves both the quality and efficiency of our work. By automating the transactional parts of the audit, our teams can focus their time where it matters most: helping clients by exercising professional skepticism and judgment."
The firm is implementing a phased rollout for the new infrastructure, beginning first with private company audits. Grant Thornton plans to expand the platform to public company audits next year as part of a full integration into the U.S. Audit & Assurance practice. The rollout is intended to increase consistency across engagements and reduce the manual steps where variability and risk often occur.
Looking ahead, the infrastructure is designed to support an "agentic" audit model. This involves intelligent agents that can increasingly orchestrate audit activity, continuously assess risk, and adapt procedures as new data emerges. "Mike Kempe," chief information officer of Grant Thornton Advisors LLC, noted that the platform will evolve alongside AI advancements to provide more autonomy and better alignment with how modern businesses operate.
The development of gtap also highlights the collaborative nature of the Grant Thornton Advisors multinational platform. The technology was originally developed by Grant Thornton Ireland and subsequently enhanced through a joint effort with the firm's U.S. technology team. This approach allows the organization to scale proven solutions across regions while maintaining independent accountability across its various audit businesses.
SOURCE: Grant Thornton
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