Grant Thornton launches AI platform for audit business

Grant Thornton US has launched “Gtap” – Grant Thornton Analytics & Automation Platform – a cloud-based infrastructure that embeds analytics, automation, and AI into every stage of the audit lifecycle.

The platform features AI-driven workflows that automate routine and transactional audit activity and AI agents that can identify risks, anomalies, and insights in real time.

“By automating the transactional parts of the audit, our teams can focus their time where it matters most: helping clients by exercising professional skepticism and judgment, assessing risk and delivering real-time insights that help drive trust in the capital markets,” said Ron Messenger, CEO of Grant Thornton LLP.

Grant Thornton US has operated in an alternative practice structure since its acquisition by New Mountain Capital in 2024. Grant Thornton LLP comprises the firm’s attest services, while Grant Thornton Advisors comprises non-attest services.

New Mountain Capital has grown the platform with the acquisition of numerous Grant Thornton country member firms – including Grant Thornton Ireland, which originally developed Gtap for use in the Irish market. 

The platform, which combines the consulting capabilities of the various firms under Grant Thornton Advisors but keeps the individual accounting practices separate for regulatory reasons, now has nearly 25,000 people across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC regions.

“We’re taking a proven solution, scaling it across regions and building in next-generation technology, including agentic AI capabilities, to make it an even more powerful tool,” said Mike Kempe, chief information officer of Grant Thornton Advisors.

Grant Thornton says it will use Gtap on private company audits before expanding to public company audits next year as part of a phased rollout.

The firm says its approach to AI means that audit is anchored in quality and professional oversight, with professionals supervising every step.

“By embedding automation, analytics, and AI directly into audit execution, we’re increasing consistency across engagements and reducing variability and manual steps where errors and risk can occur,” Messenger added. “The result is audit work that is more resilient, more repeatable, and more transparent. When you build quality into the process itself, you raise the standard across the board.”