SPOTLIGHT ON SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY In addition, the government has approved the UAE National to import data from different sources into its repository and Strategy for Artificial Intelligence 2031. As perhaps the run analytics procedures to flag transactions that were only government in the world with a Ministry for Artificial exceptional in nature. This has helped field auditors focus on Intelligence, the vision of UAE is to “become the world’s most verifying high-risk transactions and freed up time for more prepared country for AI.” To fulfill this vision, the government impactful work. has established the Mohamed Bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence, which will provide key human resource SAI UAE also realized that Robotic Process Automation development support for an AI-powered government. (RPA)—software tools that partially or fully automate human activities that are manual, rule-based, UAE’s government has also created \"As the shift to e-government and repetitive—would help address an ambitious National Program for and adoption of emerging issues posed by big data. The SAI’s Coders, to develop and attract the Information Systems Audit Team, in world’s best software engineering technologies accelerate, only a cooperation with the Financial Audit talent. At the program's launch, His proactive approach and receptive Team, has identified the most important Highness the Prime Minister of UAE and frequently used audit tests and said, “The future has new tools… The attitude to these changes will built these into an analytics platform, future speaks in a different language… ensure the continued relevance of where they are automatically run on The future will function in a virtual the government’s entire data set. ecosystem… And we want the UAE to SAIs’ work.\" be in the heart of this future.” SAI UAE has also implemented UiPath, in which software robots extract data SAI UAE’s Digital Transformation from government sources and import it into the SAI’s repository. The SAI To keep pace with these changes, SAI UAE launched an performs this exercise quarterly but intends to increase the ambitious digital transformation program at about the frequency of extraction, to achieve more timely analytics same time that UAE’s government made a push for digital results. The SAI aims to eventually shift to real-time audit government. Through a multi-pronged strategy, the SAI has and is currently studying the best way to accomplish this. gradually shifted from a paper-based to a technology- powered environment. SAI UAE understands that in the near future, it may be To start with, SAI UAE focused on developing and acquiring required to audit AI-driven systems and Blockchain-based human resources that were not only technologically literate, ledgers, and it is closely monitoring developments in these but also comfortable with data-driven audits. The SAI first fields. The SAI is also exploring ways to improve audit used spreadsheet analytics, but with the increase in the efficiency by employing machine learning—the use of data quantity and diversity of data, it has moved to specialized and algorithms to imitate the way that humans learn—and audit analytics software. This shift has improved coverage of other AI technologies in its audit methodology. the SAI’s audit universe and facilitated more sophisticated Staying Relevant in a Shifting Landscape analyses. Technology will continue to shape and reshape the ways in The UAE government’s speed of technology adoption which SAI UAE and the broader accountability community has pushed SAI UAE to innovate in its audit work as well. provide oversight. As the shift to e-government and adoption About four years ago, SAI UAE determined it would need of emerging technologies accelerate, only a proactive to create a single data repository for better data analytics approach and receptive attitude to these changes will ensure using drill-down and drill-across procedures. The SAI started the continued relevance of SAIs’ work. www.intosaijournal.org 51
Search
