The role of Large Language Models (LLMs) in auditing: Its Implications for Audit Quality in Global South

Dr George Salijeni

Dr Xia Li

Auditing is being reshaped by Artificial Intelligence. The world’s largest audit firms are already deploying Artificial Intelligence tools powered by Large Language Models (LLMs) to support core auditing tasks. While there is growing debate about the implications for professional judgement, critical questions remain about audit quality, accountability, and governance-particularly beyond the well-resourced institutional environments of Global South.

This fully funded PhD project explores how AI is transforming the foundations of audit quality: how it is defined, how it is evaluated, who is responsible for it, and how it can be safeguarded when human expertise and AI systems interact. The project investigates audit quality as an outcome increasingly shaped by the interaction between auditors’ professional judgement and algorithmic tools. The project conceptualises audit quality as an increasingly co-produced outcome, emerging from the interplay between professional judgement and algorithmic evaluation.

Crucially, the project adopts a global and context-sensitive perspective, focusing on the Global South. In these settings, variations in regulatory oversight, governance structures, digital infrastructure, and professional capacity shape how LLM technologies are adopted and used in practice. These institutional differences raise important questions about whether and how audit quality can be maintained under conditions of uneven technological readiness and enforcement.

The research combines qualitative fieldwork-including interviews with auditors, regulators, and empirical evaluation of AI capabilities. The latter involves evaluating LLM performance on audit-relevant tasks derived from regulatory inspection reports and auditing standards, assessing whether and under what conditions AI outputs align with established definitions of audit quality.
This hybrid design offers a rare opportunity to engage with both policy and practice. You will contribute to ongoing debates on AI governance and audit regulation while also working directly with state-of-the-art generative AI systems.

This is an opportunity to produce research that genuinely matters-to regulators, the auditing profession, and the many stakeholders who rely on high-quality audited financial information.

International applicants are welcome to apply for this position.

This project covers all tuition fees and includes an annual stipend.

Please note that the successful candidate will be responsible for any costs relating to moving to Birmingham and/or visiting the Aston campus. International students must meet the financial requirements for the visa, flights, and NHS Surcharge. Applicants should be confident that they can meet these costs before applying.

Further information can be found by viewing our Financial Requirements page.

The successful applicant should hold, or expect to achieve:

A First or Upper Second Class Honours undergraduate degree, and a Masters degree with Merit or Distinction, both in relevant subjects.

Qualifications from overseas institutions will be considered, but performance must be equivalent to that described above, and the University reserves the right to ascertain this equivalence according to its own criteria.

Required characteristics

Apart from the standard eligibility criteria , we should include we also welcome students with MBA, Masters in Computing, Data Science or any related field with considerable content or dissertation on AI or digitalisation.

Desirable characteristics

Member of a Professional Accountancy body.
Those that have also studied sociology focusing on technology or governance are also encouraged to apply.

We can only consider applications that are complete and have all supporting documents. Applications that do not provide all the relevant documents will be automatically rejected. Your application must include:

1. English language copies of the transcripts and certificates for all your higher education degrees, including any Bachelor degrees.
2. A Research Statement detailing your understanding of the research area, how you would approach the project, and a brief review of relevant literature. Be sure to use the title of the research project you are applying for. There is no set format or word count.
3. A personal statement which outlines any further information which you think is relevant to your application, such as your personal suitability for research, career aspirations, possible future research interests, and further description of relevant employment experience.
4. A Curriculum Vitae (Resume) which details your education and work history.
5. Two academic referees who can discuss your suitability for independent research. References must be on headed paper, signed and dated no more than 2 years old. At least one reference should be from your most recent University. You can submit your references at a later date if necessary.
6. Evidence that you meet the English Language requirements. If you do not currently meet the language requirements, you can submit this at a later stage.
7. A copy of your passport. Where relevant, include evidence of settled or pre-settled status.

Please contact Dr George Salijeni, for more information or for an informal discussion

This position will be based on the Aston Campus in Birmingham, UK. The successful candidate will need to be located within a reasonable distance of the campus, and will be expected to visit in person regularly.

Interviews will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. If you are shortlisted, you will be contacted directly with details of the interview.

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If you require further information about the application process, please contact the Postgraduate Admissions team.