Tackling your board's next big question

AI is doing in seconds what it used to take a room full of audit associates three weeks. And CFOs know it. They’re pushing auditors to share the efficiency gains, and conversations are getting lively. But finance leaders need to understand the devil in the details. Is the shift to AI about to cost audit firms big?

This is the first in a three-part series. Next week, we’ll speak to auditors about their AI strategies and explore the impact on audit quality and other services.

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AI-enabled productivity boosts are turning the audit market on its head.

The numbers are stark: PwC is reporting 20-40% productivity gains and a 30% reduction in audit planning time; Grant Thornton has publicly acknowledged its audits are getting faster and smarter (more on that shortly); and, tellingly, the Big Four hired 44% fewer new graduates in 2024, traditionally the labor force that performs big chunks of the audit grunt work. 

After years of audit firms dictating price rises, CFOs seem to now have more leverage in negotiations. Using AI tools in audits enables less manual sampling, faster anomaly detection, and better risk targeting.

CFOs argue that this removes much of the manual, time-consuming work, reducing billable hours, while also enabling auditors to improve quality, judgment, and insights.

So, naturally, CFOs are doing the math and putting up their hand to ask, “Hey, where’s my share?” 

“For years, CFOs have paid a premium for a battalion of junior auditors to sample transactions, audit invoices, or reconcile ledgers. With AI, complete data ingestion and anomaly detection are done in a fraction of the time,” said Brian Chasin, CFO at rehabilitation center Soba New Jersey. “I'm using this shift as leverage in negotiations, expecting our audit partners to pass through the efficiencies. A 10% to 15% reduction in base fees seems a realistic place to start.”

But is AI actually making audits cheaper, and should CFOs really expect price reductions?

CFOs relish no longer having to simply suck up the audit price hikes of recent years, which were driven by factors such as increased regulation, excess demand, and staff shortages.

Amy Wang, CFO at procurement platform Procurify, suggested starting the conversation by highlighting historical inflation.

“Even a year ago, you were at the mercy of uplifts. With AI, buyers are in the driving seat and auditors are more willing to negotiate. Everyone is reviewing their engagements and discounts are ripe for discussion, especially if you pressure them on what efficiency gains are coming through,” she said.

Some savvy finance heads have been negotiating with auditors based on these improvements for a couple of years. But the issue has bounced to the top of board agendas more widely in the last few months.

Two recent moments brought this into sharp focus. First, PwC acknowledged to Bloomberg in June 2025 that clients were demanding a share of AI efficiencies—and confirmed it was giving ground. 

Then, in February 2026, came the more telling signal: The Financial Times reported that KPMG had done to its own auditor exactly what its clients were doing to it. The Big Four firm pushed Grant Thornton for a fee cut on AI grounds, and got one worth 14%.

That 14% now sets the bar for CFOs. Some CFOs didn't need the FT to tell them.

Todd McElhatton, COFO at subscription management platform Zuora, which has used KPMG as auditor since 2011, said of the firm: “I give them high marks. Over the last two years, we've identified whether AI or other technology has driven efficiency and ended up with a significant improvement in audit costs.”

His approach to those conversations was deliberately collaborative. “I'm not asking you to discount fees. But where you're more efficient and need less labor, we share the savings,” he said.

For McElhatton, the framework is straightforward. “Say the auditor can cut their expense by 50% and provide significantly more and better insights. You might say: I'm getting more value, I don't need a 50% reduction. Maybe it's 40%, so both sides share the value. That becomes a negotiation.”

McElhatton stressed this is not about driving rock bottom prices. “I still want their best people,” he said.

Some CFOs are looking to drive a straight reduction from their auditors, while others prefer to negotiate added services. Ying Miao, CFO at Converge Marketing, uses a data-driven approach to negotiations. 

“We’re asking auditors what’s automated, what still requires human review, and how that translates into fees. They are offering selective adjustments. Often it shows up as bundled services – for example, adding in R&D tax credit analysis, or cross-border tax compliance – rather than a simple audit rate cut. There are also more senior staff from their teams in meetings than before,” she said.

Bartering with auditors is far from a one-way street, though. Omar Choucair, CFO at financial close software provider Trintech, said the more value and efficiency you provide to your auditor, the greater the likelihood of successful negotiations.

“By investing in audit readiness – through better data quality, stronger controls, and clearer audit trails – CFOs can naturally improve audit economics without relying on aggressive negotiation,” he said.

Wang said Procurify has been automating to cut audit preparation times – and directly asking for fee adjustments to reflect that.

“We’re seeing requests to plug directly into our ERP or procure-to-pay system. We have high standards and run robust compliance and security reviews before providing that. But once they are complete, the audit team can self-serve for sampling and testing, increasing efficiency. Plus, they can pull data directly from our procurement platform, which removes a manual overlay,” she said.

Zuora has also automated and improved processes so its auditors can review transactions faster. 

“They can look at our revenue trail from start to finish, and see transactions flows and outcomes. And they can look at a larger sample, much quicker. That’s the way to frame negotiations,” said McElhatton.

Neither Grant Thornton nor KPMG responded to invitations to comment for this article. However, Grant Thornton told the FT: “High quality audits rely heavily on expert human judgment, so our fees reflect the cost of people and technology.” As these elements evolve, so may pricing models, it said.

And KPMG told the publication: “While AI can create efficiencies, developing AI systems can add costs. AI’s most powerful impact will be to improve audit quality.”

The firms aren't just posturing. Recent research on AI in large audit firms found that while basic automation is now embedded in most audit workflows, genuinely complex AI is still in development — and the transparency, governance, and data privacy challenges of deploying it are real. KPMG is putting $2 billion on the table to build this infrastructure. 

That's not a cost that disappears just because a CFO asks nicely. The honest answer is that both sides have a case. And the right negotiation acknowledges that.

“Making a flat assumption about fees is simplistic. For example, by scanning more data, AI can find more potential risks, which improves quality. But that would mean the auditor needs to do more work, not less,” said Nick Bull, global head of audit at Baker Tilly International. 

The same conversations are happening in midmarket auditors, too. Becky Shields, partner and head of digital transformation at Moore Kingston Smith, told Secret CFO: “Where there are clear savings, we reflect them. Some benefits also reach clients through less disruption during the audit and more predictable timelines. But it’s more about improved quality and insight, not just lower cost.”

With such varying views about the impact of AI, it looks like the sparky discussions between CFOs and their auditors are set to continue this year.

Check in next week for part two to hear from auditors about their AI strategies, and the impact on audit quality and other services.

Dive into last week's Playbook for The Secret CFO’s guide for effectively budgeting AI investment.

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