3 Key 2025 Trends for Chief Audit Executives

To meet increased demands, prioritize audit committee communication, department productivity and assurance around AI risks.

Chief audit executives face increased pressure and ever more complex risk in 2025

Stakeholder pressure is mounting for chief audit executives (CAEs) to deliver more thematic insight and greater risk coverage — all while managing limited resources with greater efficiency. Defining an effective multiyear functional strategy will require renewed focus on communication, productivity and assurance.

Start by asking:

  1. How can I tailor communications to better support the audit committee’s risk oversight responsibilities?

  2. How do I determine the most effective productivity and efficiency investments?

  3. How does audit provide assurance over the organization’s use of AI?

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    How chief audit executives will succeed in 2025

    This year, CAEs must support the audit committee’s risk oversight responsibilities, achieve audit department productivity and performance goals, and scope coverage of AI risks.

    CAE trend No. 1: Board priorities put assurance in the spotlight

    Boards are prioritizing enterprise risk management more highly than they have in years past, with an 85% increase in board members reporting it as a top 5 priority. To effectively support the board in overseeing risk management, audit committees need information from CAEs on high-impact and emerging risks and risk themes. 

    However, many audit committee members report the current information they receive is insufficient. Thirty-five percent of them say they need more information about systemic governance risks; 29% say they need more information about the highest-impact emerging risks; and 20% say they need more information about thematic views on risks across the organization.

    CAE trend No. 2: Increased risk coverage requires tighter execution

    Stakeholders are pressuring audit to provide greater risk coverage — often with the same or fewer resources. Forty-one percent of CAEs facing increased coverage expectations are focused on increasing productivity and performance in audit execution to do so.

    But thus far, efforts aimed at productivity and efficiency gains have yielded limited returns. Half of CAEs say their departments are missing opportunities for efficiency due to insufficient automation, and 39% report their auditors struggle to effectively project-manage their engagements, leading to delays and cost overruns.

    CAE trend No. 3: AI risk coverage is becoming a top agenda item

    Almost half of boards list AI or machine learning as one of the top 3 technologies that have come up for discussion at the board level in the past year.

    In response to this increased focus, 86% of CAEs plan to provide coverage over AI risks in the next 12 to 18 months. But AI risks, which include behavioral, security and data, and transparency risks, are varied and complex. Only about one-fifth of CAEs feel confident providing assurance over AI governance, and only 5% feel confident providing assurance over AI model explainability and misaligned investment strategies.

    How 2025 trends will influence CAE priorities

    To set a successful strategy for 2025, ensure communications help audit better manage risks; align productivity investments to outcomes; and develop ways to identify and prioritize the most critical AI risks.

    2025 trends for chief audit executives FAQs

    What is the 2025 Leadership Vision for Chief Audit Executives?

    The Gartner Leadership Vision for Chief Audit Executives outlines CAEs’ vision for 2025. It offers strategic guidance on audit priorities, trends, goals, challenges and actions. Based on data-driven research, it helps CAEs and their teams focus discussions, diagnose priorities swiftly and develop their 2025 audit strategy.

    Drive stronger performance on your mission-critical priorities.