The relationship between auditors’ artificial intelligence literacy and their perceived value-based management sophistication

Purpose This study investigates the relationship between auditors’ artificial intelligence literacy (AAIL) and their perception of value-based management (VBM) sophistication. Design/methodology/approach This study analyzed the views of 386 auditors working in auditing firms as members of the Iranian Association of Certified Public Accountants (IACPA). A questionnaire-based survey was conducted. The AAIL questions included 12 items based on four distinct constructs, and the questions on VBM sophistication included 19 items based on six distinct constructs. Reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity were confirmed. All construct measures were adequately reliable and valid, and all the variables were predictive. Findings The results showed that AAIL was positively associated with perceived VBM sophistication. The results showed that higher levels of AAIL constructs (i.e. awareness, usage, evaluation, and ethics) were associated with greater recognition and understanding of VBM sophistication. The findings showed that ethics are relevant but less effective than the other constructs. The results showed that auditors with more experience tended to grasp VBM sophistication better, regardless of their AI literacy. Moreover, the relationship between AI literacy and perceptions of VBM sophistication is stronger among experienced auditors. Originality/value Although AI tools are rapidly transforming auditing processes and strategic control frameworks, academic literature still exhibits a disciplinary separation between AI literacy and interpretive professional judgment. Moreover, few studies have examined how auditors' AI literacy relates to their ability to identify, understand, and respond to VBM practices. This study addresses an empirical gap by linking AAIL to auditors’ perceptions of VBM sophistication, a relationship that has not been systematically tested in prior quantitative studies.