BBVA boosts audit productivity with AI assistant

Late last year, BBVA decided to roll out ChatGPT Enterprise to its entire 120,000-strong workforce as part of a “unique and unprecedented level of collaboration” with OpenAI. One of the ways that the technology is being used is to increase the productivity of the hundreds of audits carried out every year.

These audits involve analysing large volumes of data from multiple sources and in heterogeneous formats. They require the design and running of increasingly complex analytical tests and need proper documenting and full traceability.

Traditionally, some of these tasks have relied on spreadsheets and analysis code created ad hoc by auditors, applying their best professional judgment. However, says BBVA, reliance on individual skills can lead to inefficiencies, increase audit risk, lead to inconsistent judgment, and make analyses harder to replicate.

The bank’s internal audit team has developed a specific GPT within ChatGPT Enterprise designed to help auditors systematise data analysis. The technology does not replace human judgment but guides auditors within a consistent framework.

“By reducing manual programming and documentation work and providing a common analytical foundation, we anticipate productivity improvements of around 10 percent in audits that require intensive use of data, as auditors can then apply their professional judgment and identify risks based on robust and comprehensive results,” says Carlos Sanz-Pastor, global head, internal audit, BBVA.