Q&A: Inside EY’s $1B innovation journey with Marc Jeschonneck and Paul Goodhew
EY’s Marc Jeschonneck and Paul Goodhew reveal how generative AI and innovation are reshaping the future of auditing.
EY’s Marc Jeschonneck and Paul Goodhew reveal how generative AI and innovation are reshaping the future of auditing.
In 2022, EY made a bold commitment: a $1 billion, four-year investment in transforming assurance and auditing through technology. Now, as the firm approaches the third anniversary of this initiative, its leaders reflect on how innovation has reshaped their approach to auditing, data integration, and user experience.
Marc Jeschonneck, EY’s Global Assurance Digital Leader, and Paul Goodhew, EY’s Global Assurance Innovation & Emerging Technology Leader, share insights into the firm’s advancements—from generative AI tools streamlining complex workflows to the integration of cloud-based analytics.
“This journey is far from over,” says Jeschonneck. “We’ve achieved a lot, but we see this as just the foundation for what’s to come.”
The road, however, has not been without its challenges. As Jeschonneck and Goodhew describe, the rapid rise of generative AI and the need for new skill sets have required EY to remain agile, adapting its roadmap while maintaining its focus on compliance and responsible innovation.
The result? A technology-driven transformation that is redefining the role of auditors and setting a new standard for the profession.
EY’s journey to transform assurance and auditing is grounded in a clear, long-term vision: to align cutting-edge technology with the complex demands of the profession.
Now entering its third year, the firm’s $1 billion investment plan continues to introduce new capabilities, including generative AI tools, cloud-based analytics, and enhanced user workflows—innovations that are reshaping how audits are conducted.
One of the highlights of this transformation is EYQ Assurance Knowledge, a generative AI tool being released globally in 2025, designed to help professionals quickly search and summarise technical auditing and accounting content.
“This tool equips our teams to get to the heart of technical matters with greater precision, especially where significant judgment is required,” explains Goodhew.
Beyond AI, the firm has modernised the user experience by integrating guided workflows across its platforms.
“Instead of requiring professionals to search for the right tools, we’re bringing the capabilities directly to them,” adds Jeschonneck. This approach not only saves time but ensures smoother processes for audit teams.
EY has also scaled its data capabilities significantly, leveraging cloud-based platforms to analyse billions of general ledger data points annually. The integration of analytics utilising tools like Microsoft Power BI has brought efficiency and accuracy to the forefront, enabling audit teams to process data seamlessly within their workflows.
These advancements reflect EY’s adaptability in a rapidly evolving technological landscape.
“Generative AI wasn’t even on our original roadmap,” notes Goodhew. “But as the technology emerged, we adapted quickly to ensure we were leveraging its potential responsibly while maintaining compliance in a heavily regulated environment.”
While the advancements in technology have been transformative, EY’s leaders acknowledge that the journey hasn’t been without its hurdles. For Jeschonneck, one of the greatest challenges was assembling the right talent to bring their vision to life.
“Having the right team at hand, both to build this technology and to deploy and use it, was more challenging than we anticipated,” he says.
The timing of the programme’s launch—in the middle of the global disruptions of 2021—only added complexity. Virtual collaboration became the norm, and EY had to adapt quickly to ensure cross-border teams could work effectively. Beyond the logistics, finding professionals with the dual expertise of technology and auditing posed its own difficulties.
“We needed “translators”—people who could connect the worlds of auditing and technology. Finding them wasn’t easy,” explains Jeschonneck.
One solution involved cultivating talent from within EY’s ranks, encouraging auditors to transition into technology-focused roles.
“We needed to convince people that working on technology full-time could be a career path,” he says.
To reinforce this, EY created role models by promoting individuals who made the leap, demonstrating that this wasn’t a side project but a core part of the firm’s future.
The firm also had to navigate the rapid emergence of generative AI, which wasn’t part of its initial roadmap.
“All of a sudden, one of the most potentially transformative technologies of our time goes mainstream,” says Goodhew. “We had to challenge ourselves to adjust our roadmap and identify the best use cases, while ensuring that generative AI was deployed responsibly in a heavily regulated environment.”
EY’s approach to these challenges was underpinned by strong principles. The firm established certification processes for all global technologies to ensure their compliance and explainability.
“If you can’t explain in plain words what these tools are doing, you have a big problem,” Jeschonneck points out.
This rigorous process ensures that new tools meet both internal and external regulatory standards, instilling confidence in their use.
As EY integrates advanced technologies like generative AI into its platforms, the firm remains deeply committed to ethical and responsible innovation. Navigating the complexities of global regulations, data privacy, and AI ethics has been central to its transformation journey.
Goodhew outlines the importance of responsible AI principles in EY’s approach: “We’ve developed nine principles of responsible AI, covering topics like sustainability and bias, to ensure that artificial intelligence is used properly and responsibly.”
He adds that the firm has inventoried its AI usage across all services, considering not only internal tools but also third-party applications, that its professionals may use and that it is precise about what is permissible and what is not.
EY’s strategy also includes comprehensive governance frameworks to manage the risks associated with AI.
Goodhew emphasises the importance of embedding these practices into the firm’s operations: “Organisations must refresh their governance over AI usage, ensuring compliance with new regulations and addressing risks proactively.”
Jeschonneck highlights the significance of explainability and data quality in building trust around AI technologies.
“Certification has been a cornerstone for us,” he says. “With AI, we had to adapt this process to focus more on the quality of the underlying data and the explainability of the tools. If people can’t understand how a tool works, they won’t trust it—or use it as intended.”
The focus on compliance isn’t limited to internal practices. EY has also developed frameworks to support clients as they adopt emerging technologies.
“Our clients often ask us, ‘Is it safe? Can I use it? What’s the value?’” says Goodhew.
By offering guidance on AI risks and opportunities, EY is not only advancing its own capabilities but also helping businesses navigate the challenges of integrating these technologies into their operations.
As EY approaches the conclusion of its four-year investment plan, its leaders are already looking toward the next phase of innovation.
“This journey is just the beginning,” says Jeschonneck. “We project that technology will become even more critical beyond the horizon of these 4 years, with investment needs likely to scale alongside the opportunities.”
One area of focus is maximising the potential of AI across EY’s platforms. Jeschonneck highlights how the next steps will centre on deeper integration of generative AI capabilities.
“The foundation of everything we’ve built so far is integration. Now, we’re looking at how we can capitalise on AI’s power by combining its capabilities, such as outlier detection, recommendation engines, document intelligence, and search functionalities, into a unified experience.”
Goodhew highlights the potential of AI agents to perform interconnected tasks alongside audit professionals.
“We’re exploring how AI agents can assist with multiple, connected activities—essentially acting as co-pilots for our teams. But this requires careful oversight to ensure compliance and maintain the integrity of the audit process,” he explains.
“Explainability, responsible use, and ongoing dialogue with regulators are key as we push the boundaries of what’s possible with AI,” adds Jeschonneck.
Looking ahead, EY is preparing to announce its next set of technological advancements at a keynote event in spring 2025.
While the full detail remains under wraps, both leaders emphasise that the focus will remain on enhancing the user experience, integrating data, embedding AI, and building trust through responsible innovation.
“This isn’t a one-off programme,” Jeschonneck concludes. “We see this as a continuous journey, one that evolves alongside the needs of our teams and our clients.”