Zeyad Haroun is a Research Engineer at Luleå University of Technology (LTU), working at the forefront of AI applications in auditing. As part of the collaboration with Senseworks, he is helping develop Ally, Senseworks’ AI audit assistant. In this interview, Zeyad shares his thoughts on how AI is shaping the future of auditing, what practical use cases auditors can expect, and how research and industry can work hand in hand to solve everyday challenges in the audit profession.
Hey Zeyad, can you start by telling us a bit about your background and your current role at LTU?
I hold a bachelor’s degree in computer and communication engineering, with a strong focus on machine learning and data science. In my current role as a Research Engineer in information systems at LTU, I get to explore and apply cutting-edge technologies in areas like NLP, computer vision, and conversational systems. This position allows me not only to stay at the forefront of AI research but also to work hands-on with applied innovation that has a direct impact on industries such as auditing.
What led you into the intersection of AI and auditing, and how did you begin collaborating with Senseworks on Ally?
The collaboration with Senseworks started through the MARTINA project, which aims to strengthen innovation capacity in northern Sweden by applying AI to real-world business challenges. With my background in conversational AI and machine learning, working on Ally was a natural fit. It’s an ambitious project: bringing large language model technology into the highly regulated audit profession. For me, it’s exciting to take advanced AI research and turn it into something that directly helps auditors in their daily work.
From your perspective as a researcher, what are the biggest opportunities AI brings to auditing right now?
AI can add value in multiple stages of the audit process: drafting reports, performing risk assessments, summarizing large volumes of text, and supporting auditors with quick access to relevant information. Classical machine learning is also powerful for areas like anomaly detection or fraud risk. The real opportunity lies in making audits more efficient while at the same time improving quality, since auditors can focus more on professional judgment instead of repetitive tasks.
Where do you see AI making the most immediate impact on day-to-day audit work?
Auditors spend enormous amounts of time searching, checking, and documenting. AI changes this dynamic by being able to process thousands of documents in seconds and highlight what really matters. That frees up auditors to concentrate on higher-value activities like understanding the client and applying their expertise. The immediate impact is not just time savings, it’s better use of the auditor’s knowledge and sharper insights for the client.
You’re currently working on Ally, Senseworks’ AI audit assistant. Could you share a bit about the vision behind Ally and what problems it aims to solve for auditors?
The vision for Ally is to act as a digital co-pilot for every auditor. Ally is not there to replace professional judgment, but to take on the heavy lifting: scanning documents, suggesting risk areas, and drafting parts of the audit file. In practice, Ally functions like a digital colleague that can instantly search through large amounts of information and deliver the key insights. This makes the audit process faster, less repetitive, and ultimately more value-adding for both auditors and their clients.
How do you ensure that AI tools like Ally not only automate tasks but also improve audit quality and support auditors in their professional judgment?
Ensuring reliability and accuracy is absolutely crucial. That’s why Ally uses a retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) framework, where the system grounds its answers in verified audit documents and standards. Every output is based on real, cited sources. This approach gives auditors confidence that the insights are factual, dependable, and aligned with professional requirements, while still leaving the critical judgment to the human auditor.
Looking ahead, how do you think AI will transform the audit profession over the next five to ten years?
Over time, the cost of running advanced AI will decrease, and its performance will only get better. Within five to ten years, I believe AI will be seamlessly embedded in the audit workflow, from planning to final reporting. Audits will be faster, more thorough, and more client-focused. AI won’t be a separate tool, it will be part of the fabric of how auditing is done.
Will AI replace auditors, or strengthen their role?
AI today is not artificial general intelligence. It cannot replicate the deep reasoning, intuition, and judgment of a human auditor. What AI can do is handle repetitive, data-heavy tasks at scale. That means auditors gain more time to apply their expertise where it matters most. Rather than replacing auditors, AI strengthens their role by allowing them to deliver higher-quality work with greater efficiency.
As someone working in academia and applied research, what is the value of close collaboration between universities like LTU and companies like Senseworks?
Such collaborations are very important to research because it shows how the research done in academia actually affects people in real life and reveals the practical insights that might not be visible through pure research. By working with Senseworks, we gain insights into auditors’ real-world challenges, and we can test and refine AI solutions directly in practice. In the end, research is intended to benefit people.
How can auditors themselves contribute to shaping AI tools so that they truly address the profession’s pain points?
Auditors need to voice their needs, for example through workshops where they can bounce ideas and explain their vision for their work and how AI can help. Ultimately, it’s the auditors’ perspective that drives the most relevant and useful breakthroughs.
Finally, what excites you most about your work right now, and what should auditors look forward to from the development of Ally and AI in auditing?
What excites me most is taking cutting-edge AI research and turning it into something practical that auditors can use every day. With Ally, auditors should look forward to a tool that makes their work smarter, not harder; reducing time on repetitive tasks, improving access to critical information, and enabling them to deliver even higher-quality audits. It’s not just about efficiency, it’s about reshaping the future of auditing for the better.
Thanks, Zeyad, for sharing your insights. Your work highlights how AI research and software innovation can go hand in hand to make auditing smarter, more efficient, and future-ready. At Senseworks, we believe the future of auditing lies in empowering auditors with cutting-edge technology like Ally. Not only to reduce manual workload but also to strengthen quality and trust in the profession.
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This work is part of the MARTINA project at Luleå University of Technology, where LTU and Senseworks collaborate to advance applied AI in auditing and strengthen innovation capacity in northern Sweden. The project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund, Region Norrbotten, Skellefteå Municipality, and Luleå Municipality; a partnership that enables turning research into real-world solutions for the audit profession.
