EisnerAmper elevates assurance with an Azure AI Foundry-powered agent supporting 18,000 audits

EisnerAmper, one of the largest accounting and business advisory firms in the U.S., set out to modernize assurance and to give auditors more time for high-value, judgment-driven tasks.

To achieve this, EisnerAmper partnered with Microsoft and built the EisnerAI Audit Design Agent using Azure AI Foundry.

With its new AI agent, EisnerAmper is positioned to streamline research, accelerate risk assessment, and empower auditors to ask sharper questions, deliver deeper insights, and strengthen client trust.

EisnerAmper is one of the largest accounting and business advisory firms in the U.S., set to help organizations navigate complexity and drive growth. As AI and agents begin unlocking new possibilities in professional services, the firm is taking a bold step forward, reimagining how assurance is performed and amplifying the value it delivers to clients.

“We set out to build an agent that would truly pave the way for the future of how assurance gets done,” says Jessica Estrella, Audit Partner and Leader of Methodology, Enablement, Technology, and Innovation at EisnerAmper.

“Our agent was the right place to start because it touches all 18,000 audits we do. It will drive smarter decisions by synthesizing massive amounts of information in consistent, predictable ways, exactly what auditors need.”

Phillip Austin, Head of the National Office of Professional Practice and Chief Risk Officer of Assurance, EisnerAmper

A new chapter for assurance

Auditors work in a fast-moving environment that demands navigating vast amounts of information, assessing risk, understanding the client, and applying sharp professional judgment.

“It takes hours to pull information together, make sense of it, talk it through with the team, and get meaningful insights,” reflects Declan Conway, Audit Senior at EisnerAmper. “And with constant changes—new regulatory updates, evolving accounting concepts—you’re not always guaranteed to land on the most relevant conclusions right away.”

The EisnerAI Audit Design Agent is built to transform this reality. Designed to act as a research and insight partner, the agent aggregates information across systems, synthesizes it, and surfaces key patterns auditors need to move faster and think deeper. “This agent helps us spend more time digging into the areas that matter,” explains Conway. “It frees time for the high-value work where we bring real judgment and expertise.”

With insights delivered upfront, auditors can reassess assumptions, explore alternative paths, and notice relevant areas they may not have considered. “It lets you rethink the landscape, consider new angles, question more thoughtfully, and ultimately elevate the quality and efficiency of the entire engagement,” adds Conway.

This shift positions EisnerAmper to set a new standard for assurance.

“When you take away the work of assembling and sorting data, you allow auditors to do more meaningful work,” says Phillip Austin, Head of the National Office of Professional Practice and Chief Risk Officer of Assurance at EisnerAmper. “And when an audit is more precise, you find issues more readily. Clients gain insight, and the work becomes more satisfying.”

A new learning curve for auditors

Beyond workflow benefits, the agent unlocks new opportunities for talent development.

Auditors at different stages of their career often spend significant time context-switching, balancing learning, execution, and teaching. The agent becomes a single, reliable source of knowledge, helping teams ramp up faster and making coaching more efficient.

“Having that single source of information—complete with relevant insights—helps all of us strengthen our understanding of the client and stay grounded in the standards and guidance we operate within,” says Conway. “It prepares you to be a better professional, and it makes learning more timely and much more effective.”

Senior team members also note the value the agent brings to early-career auditors. “This would’ve been incredibly valuable when I was starting out,” reflects Conway. “Having all that information at my fingertips would accelerate growth from day one.”

As teams explore new ways of working, EisnerAmper sees a powerful opportunity to elevate human expertise across the entire practice.

“We sit in rooms where people’s eyes widen as they see even one sliver of what AI can do for them. That excitement pushes people to step a little outside their comfort zone, and that’s where real success happens.” explains Estrella

“We use Microsoft 365 across EisnerAmper. Choosing tools that naturally fit how we work means we can tailor what we need in real time. It supports the pace of innovation we require.”

Jessica Estrella, Audit Partner and Leader of Methodology, Enablement, Technology, and Innovation, EisnerAmper

Secure by design, strengthened by partnership

From the start, EisnerAmper approached the AI agent with a priority to build responsibly. With audit data spanning multiple systems, the team needed an architecture that could support advanced AI without compromising on governance.

“We’re bringing in a lot of sensitive documents. Security had to be our guiding principle from day one,” explains Stephen Kassay, Director of AI Development at EisnerAmper.

To meet that bar, EisnerAmper chose to build the solution on a secure Azure foundation. “We’re an Azure company,” continues Kassay. “Azure gives us a full suite of AI tools with strong guardrails.”

The team created a centralized data lake for ingestion, applied Microsoft Purview to classify and tag sensitive information, and used Azure Active Directory security groups to ensure that only the right people access the right data. These controls formed an environment where AI innovation could happen safely.

Once the secure backbone was in place, the team layered the intelligence. Using Azure AI Foundry and Azure Data Factory, EisnerAmper created the pipelines and components needed for the The EisnerAI Audit Design Agent to process and deliver insights. Working within a familiar ecosystem accelerated both development and innovation. Azure development capabilities added even more speed and accessibility.

“We use Microsoft 365 across EisnerAmper. Choosing tools that naturally fit how we work means we can tailor what we need in real time. It supports the pace of innovation we require.” says Estrella

“Azure gives us a full suite of AI tools with strong guardrails.”

Stephen Kassay, Director of AI Development, EisnerAmper

Building the future of AI-enabled auditing

EisnerAmper is excited for what comes next. The firm sees AI as the next frontier for competitive advantage: an opportunity to strengthen human + AI collaboration and allow technology to augment the sharp judgment auditors bring to every engagement.

“Our agent was the right place to start because it touches all 18,000 audits we do. It will drive smarter decisions by synthesizing massive amounts of information in consistent, predictable ways, exactly what auditors need,” says Austin.

The company is now heading toward a future shaped by a body of AI agents that support auditors across the entire engagement lifecycle. These tools remove the manual work that slows teams down and create space for deeper thinking, allowing auditors to ask sharper questions, explore issues more thoughtfully, and deliver higher-value insights.

“Clients will gravitate to auditors who ask smart questions,” notes Austin. “And smart auditors will gravitate to environments that let them ask those questions. When you bring that value proposition together, you gain access to better clients, better price points, and a stronger organization overall.”

EisnerAmper believes this transformation establishes a new standard of excellence, where technology empowers professionals to focus their time on what matters most.

“What we do is stand on the bridge between people who want confidence in information and those who provide it,” concludes Austin. “Given where we are in the world today, I can think of no more valuable thing to be doing. And AI will help us do that even more effectively.”

“We sit in rooms where people’s eyes widen as they see even one sliver of what AI can do for them. That excitement pushes people to step a little outside their comfort zone, and that’s where real success happens.”

Jessica Estrella, Audit Partner and Leader of Methodology, Enablement, Technology, and Innovation, EisnerAmper

Practical guidance for firms beginning their AI journey

EisnerAmper’s experience offers clear lessons for organizations preparing to begin their own AI transformation.

Move first, move fast. AI is the next frontier. Starting now gives firms the space to explore possibilities, learn quickly, and shape solutions that align with their long-term strategy.

Bring the right partners on board. Progress accelerates when you work with partners who bring deep expertise and the technology needed to innovate safely. The right partnership keeps you moving and grounded at the same time.

Set strong security guardrails upfront. A solid security and governance foundation protects sensitive data and builds trust across the business. Clear guardrails make experimentation safe and ensure that innovation never comes at the expense of confidentiality or compliance.

Inspire your teams with possibility. People embrace new technology when they can see its impact firsthand. Demos, pilots, and early wins spark curiosity and help teams understand how AI elevates their work rather than disrupts it.

Experiment, learn, refine. AI transformation is iterative. Start small, test often, and evolve quickly. Give teams room to explore new approaches and uncover where AI can unlock the greatest value.