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In the age of AI, the controller plays a crucial role in ensuring the integrity, reliability, and ethical use of AI systems, particularly within financial operations. They act as guardians of data quality, compliance, and risk management, ensuring that AI-driven insights are accurate and relevant while adhering to regulatory standards.
Here's a more detailed look at the controller's role in AI:
Data Integrity and Quality:
• Controllers are responsible for ensuring the quality and integrity of data used to train and inform AI models.
• They work to establish data governance frameworks, implement data quality initiatives, and ensure data lineage (tracking data from the source to downstream systems).
Risk Management:
• Controllers assess potential risks associated with AI implementation, including inaccuracies, vulnerabilities, and ethical considerations.
• They help to define and implement risk management frameworks for AI, ensuring that AI systems are used responsibly and ethically.
Compliance:
• Controllers stay informed about relevant regulations and ensure AI systems are compliant with those regulations.
• They monitor AI systems to ensure they are not violating any laws or policies.
Transparency and Auditability:
• Controllers work to ensure that AI decisions are transparent and auditable.
• They establish processes to review AI decisions and identify potential biases or errors.
Collaboration and Training:
• Controllers work with IT and business teams to understand AI's capabilities and limitations.
• They provide training to teams on how to use and manage AI tools effectively.
Value Creation:
• Controllers can leverage AI to identify areas for automation, improve efficiency, and gain real-time insights into financial operations.
• They can use AI to make more informed decisions and create more strategic recommendations for action.
Emerging Role:
• The role of the controller is evolving with the rise of AI, with controllers becoming more hands-on throughout the implementation process.
• They are increasingly seen as catalysts for AI-enabled transformation, helping to identify potential use cases and build confidence in the technology.
Lynn Fountain has over 45 years of experience spanning public accounting, corporate accounting and consulting. 24 years of her experience has been working in the areas of internal and external auditing. She is a subject matter expert in multiple fields including internal audit, ethics, fraud evaluations, Sarbanes-Oxley, enterprise risk management, governance, financial management and compliance. Ms. Fountain has held two Chief Audit Executive positions for international companies. In 2011, as the Chief Audit Executive for an international construction/ engineering firm, she was involved in the active investigation of a joint venture fraud. The investigation included work with the FBI and ultimately led to indictment of the perpetrators and recovery of $13M. Ms. Fountain is currently engaged in her own training and consulting business and is a regular trainer for the AICPA. Ms. Fountain is the author of three separate technical books. “Raise the Red Flag – The Internal Auditors Guide to Fraud Evaluations” was published by the Institute of Internal Auditors Research Foundation. -“Leading The Internal Audit Function” and -“Ethics and The Internal Auditor Political Dilemma” were published by Taylor & Francis In addition Ms. Fountain was a contributing author to the certification program exam for the National Association of Accountants. She also has certificate programs on various on-line platforms. Ms. Fountain has performed as an adjunct instructor for the School of Business for Grantham University and developed the first internal audit curriculum for the School of Business at the University of Kansas. Ms. Fountain obtained her BSBA from Pittsburg State University and her MBA from Washburn University in Kansas. She has her CGMA, CRMA credentials and CPA certificate (non-active).
