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Growing Science » International Journal of Data and Network Science » Sequential adoption of audit software and AI analytics: Evidence from Kuwait and the GCC

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International Journal of Data and Network Science
ISSN 2561-8156 (Online) - ISSN 2561-8148 (Print)
Quarterly Publication
Volume 10 Issue 3 pp. 995-1006, 2026

Sequential adoption of audit software and AI analytics: Evidence from Kuwait and the GCC Pages 995-1006 PDF Download PDF

Authors: Awwad Alnesafi

📋 Author Affiliations:
Awwad Alnesafi ORCID 1
1 Associate Professor, Department of Accounting, Al Yamamah University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
doi 10.5267/j.ijdns.2026.4.025
Crossref 1 Source: CrossRef

🔑 Keywords: Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Auditing, Audit Software, Audit Quality, Predictive Risk Assessment, Sequential Adoption Model, Kuwait, GCC, Planning Gap, AQF

Abstract: The evolution of audit technology is changing the profession, but studies conducted in Kuwait and the GCC have remained ad hoc, tending to treat traditional audit software and AI analytics as two separate entities rather than as a unified technological trajectory. This research addresses that gap by analysing the interaction of these tools as a sequential process of improving audit quality. A mixed-methods design was employed, combining a structured survey of 219 auditors and finance executives with semi-structured interviews. Analysis proceeded through hierarchical descriptive tabulation, factor validation testing, structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM), bootstrapped mediation and moderation testing, incremental value analysis, and multi-group comparison. The findings demonstrate that audit software and AI analytics are complementary rather than competing technologies: software improves process efficiency and compliance foundations, while AI analytics extends these foundations through predictive risk capabilities and fraud detection maturity. Auditor expertise, targeted training, and organisational readiness significantly moderate both pathways. Adoption of both tools in combination produced the strongest gains in audit quality, and multi-group analysis revealed contextual differences across GCC firms. This paper makes three contributions. First, it provides empirical validation of a Sequential Adoption Model, demonstrating that audit software and AI analytics are complementary and sequentially ordered phases of a single audit technology trajectory. Second, it identifies auditor expertise, targeted training, and organisational readiness as key moderators of both pathways, and documents significant contextual differences between Kuwaiti and broader GCC firms. Third, it establishes a planning-phase boundary condition: AQF-based evidence from the GCC indicates that the planning dimension (AQF 2) remains the least effectively technology-supported phase even after sequential adoption, pointing to a phase-specific gap whose mechanisms are examined in complementary conceptual work.

How to cite this paper
APA: Alnesafi, A. (2026). Sequential adoption of audit software and AI analytics: Evidence from Kuwait and the GCC. International Journal of Data and Network Science, 10(3), 995-1006.
Chicago/Turabian: Alnesafi, A. 2026. "Sequential adoption of audit software and AI analytics: Evidence from Kuwait and the GCC." International Journal of Data and Network Science 10, no. 3 (2026): 995-1006.
AMA: Alnesafi, A. Sequential adoption of audit software and AI analytics: Evidence from Kuwait and the GCC. International Journal of Data and Network Science. 2026;10(3):995-1006.

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📚 Journal: International Journal of Data and Network Science | 📅 Year: 2026 | 📖 Volume: 10 | 📄 Issue: 3 | 👁️ Views: 452 | 📊 Crossref: 1

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