On Sept. 9, California set some of the nation’s first rules for who may audit artificial intelligence. I spent four years on the board that regulates public company auditors, often as its lone dissenter, and the state got more right than wrong. The problem with the policies is that nothing requires proof that an AI audit got the numbers right, which defies the whole point.

Financial auditors, like everyone else, are increasingly adopting AI in their work, but faster audits are useful only if they avoid the persistent, costly mistakes we keep making. In 2024, federal agencies reported an estimated $162 billion in improper payments, despite most receiving clean opinions on their financial statements. In the private sector, researchers estimated that corporate fraud destroys $830 billion annually at 2021 valuations. These losses are not all audit failures, but they do show how wide the gap has grown between passing an audit and getting the numbers right.