KPMG discovered the cheating by using its own AI detection systems|Paul Wilkinson|CC BY 2.0
A partner at KPMG Australia has been fined A$10,000 for using artificial intelligence tools to cheat on an internal AI training exam.
The unnamed partner was later forced to retake the test. The company discovered the cheating by using its own AI detection systems. KPMG Australia said it has identified more than two dozen employees who used AI to cheat on internal exams since July.
The case has raised fresh concerns about how quickly the tech is changing the accounting profession.
Chief executive Andrew Yates said the firm is struggling to manage AI use in training and testing. He admitted that some employees breach company policy and said KPMG takes such incidents seriously.
The firm plans to tighten controls and will disclose cases of AI misuse in its annual results.
It is not the company’s first incident of cheating
In 2021, KPMG Australia paid A$615,000 in fines after investigators found that more than 1,100 partners had shared answers in tests meant to measure skills and integrity.
The case highlights the growing challenge companies face as staff misuse fast-evolving AI tools.
Incidentally, KPMG got fee cuts from its own accountant, arguing that AI will lower the cost of auditing, according to the Financial Times.
AI tools are now creating new challenges. In December, the UK’s largest accounting body, the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, announced that students must take exams in person because it had become too hard to stop AI cheating online.
Even so, major firms such as PricewaterhouseCoopers continue to push staff to use AI at work, while tightening rules to prevent misuse.