In addition, the conference will feature a parallel track held in collaboration with the 76th World Continuous Auditing & Reporting Symposium (WCARS), organized by the CARLAB of Rutgers Business School. WCARS is a leading international forum focusing on continuous auditing, reporting, and emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and real-time assurance. Authors presenting in this track will present their work as part of the main conference program while benefiting from the visibility and international network associated with WCARS. This collaboration aims to foster closer ties between both communities and to strengthen the global dialogue on the future of auditing in an AI-driven environment.

Information about the speakers and the conference program will be updated continuously. Please note that this is a preliminary version.

Patrick Beyer – Deutsche Telekom AG

Patrick Beyer is the Vice President Advanced IT & Technology Audits at Deutsche Telekom AG. He is responsible for all IT, Network Technology, and Security audits across the Telekom Group, leading a team of 30 auditors in Germany and the national companies. His role also includes participation in the audit committees of various Telekom entities and key account management for the Board members of T-Systems and Technology & Innovation. In addition, he is driving the digital transformation of auditing through AI, agile methods, data analytics, and standardized global audit plans.

Prof. Anne D'Arcy – Vienna University of Economics and Business

Anne d'Arcy is Full Professor and Head of the Institute for Corporate Governance at WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business), Austria. Her research focuses on corporate governance, management control, financial reporting, and AI in corporate reporting. She serves on the Commission of the Austrian Corporate Governance Code (ÖCGK), is a member of the Executive Committee of the Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft, and serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the German Institute of Internal Auditing (DIIR). She has published in leading international journals and serves on several editorial boards.​​

Jens Düngen – Deutsche Telekom AG

Jens Düngen is the VP New Ways of Auditing at Deutsche Telekom AG. He is responsible for global audit transformation-, performance-, and quality management. His role includes the global collaboration of the international internal audit functions and the aligned assurance initiative. Jens participants in audit committees of various DT entities, DT-wide Compliance Committee, and holds key account roles for selected Board areas. In addition, he is Chief Audit Executive and Chief Risk Officer at T-Mobile Austria, Vienna. Prior to his current role, Jens held various executive positions within DT. Before he joined DT, Jens worked for EY in Assurance and Advisory teams.

Prof. Scott Emett - Arizona State University (ASU)

Scott Emett is an associate professor at Arizona State University. His research examines how producers and consumers of financial disclosures make judgments and decisions, focusing on how technological disruptions shape those judgments and decisions. He strives to conduct research that offers valuable insights for practitioners in the field, bridging the gap between academic research and practical application. His research has been published in several top accounting journals, including Journal of Accounting and Economics; The Accounting Review; Contemporary Accounting Research; among others.

Angelo Giardina – IAASB

Angelo Giardina is a Principal at the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), where he leads the team supporting the IAASB’s technology initiatives. In this role, he helps advance the IAASB’s strategic response to the evolving impact of technology on audit and assurance, including the implications of emerging technologies for audit quality, standard setting, and the public interest. Most recently, he served as Head of CPAB’s Thought Leadership Group, where he led the development of CPAB’s perspectives on significant audit quality matters, including fraud in financial statement audits, the use of technology in audits, and good practices in auditing crypto-assets.

Egemen Lipinski - Uniper SE

As SVP Audit Operations, HSSE and Sustainability at Uniper SE, Egemen Lipinski is responsible for overseeing critical audits of power plants, asset projects, and sustainability initiatives. He is also a driving force behind the integration of Artificial Intelligence into Internal Audit - redefining how audit teams operate, communicate, and deliver value. He holds a Diplomkaufmann degree from the University of Mannheim.

Dr. Björn Nill – Mercedes-Benz Group

After earning his law degree and PhD, Dr. Björn Nill began his career at a leading commercial law firm in 2004 before joining the legal department of DaimlerChrysler AG in 2007. In 2011, he transitioned into the compliance function, where he held several leadership roles and, from 2017 onwards, assumed additional responsibility for the Data Governance program. In that capacity, he and his team developed the automotive industry’s first AI governance model. Since 2021, he has served as Audit Director, where he and his team have designed an audit methodology for AI use cases.

Andreas Pöhlmann - Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer in Deutschland e.V. (IDW)

With more than ten years of professional experience at a Big Four firm, Andreas Pöhlmann has extensive expertise in financial statement auditing, IT auditing, and IT advisory services. Since 2014, he has also been actively involved in the Institute of Public Auditors in Germany (IDW), where he has chaired various committees and working groups, including the Technical Committee for Information Technology, the Technical Committee for Digital Advisory, the Working Group on the Digitalization of Financial Statement Audits, and the Forum for SME IT Audit Experts. In addition, he contributes his professional expertise as an author to the IDW Auditing Manual (WP-Handbuch), specifically to the chapter “Conducting the Financial Statement Audit.”

Alexander Rühle – Zapliance

Alexander Rühle, Founder and Managing Director of zapliance, leads a pioneer in innovative GRC software solutions. With deep expertise in audit automation, data analytics, and AI-driven risk management, he has revolutionized continuous controls monitoring and process mining for organizations worldwide. His visionary leadership positions zapliance as a key player in modern internal auditing, delivering practical tools that enhance compliance efficiency and decision-making in complex regulatory environments.

Thorsten Rütze – Bayer AG

Thorsten Rütze is the Head of IT Audit and the Head of Audit Analytics at Bayer AG, where he leads the transformation of Internal Audit toward a technology-enabled, data-driven future. In his dual leadership role, he is responsible for Bayer's global IT Audit function and the department's Audit Analytics and Artificial Intelligence strategy, driving the adoption of advanced analytics, automation, and AI to enhance risk coverage, efficiency, and business impact. His work focuses on combining artificial intelligence, data science, and auditor expertise to modernize assurance functions and help organizations navigate the opportunities and risks of digital transformation.

Prof. Sergeja Slapnicar – University of Queensland

Prof. Sergeja Slapničar is an associate professor of accounting at the University of Queensland and an internationally recognized expert in audit, governance, and risk management. Her current research focuses in particular on cyber risk, governance, and assurance, as well as the impact of new technologies on accounting and auditing. She also brings extensive practical and board experience to her role and has been actively involved in teaching, research, and the professional development of the accounting profession for many years.

Jan Stottrop - DIIR - Deutsches Institut für Interne Revision e.V.

Jan Stottrop is the CEO of DIIR – Deutsches Institut für Interne Revision e.V. (IIA Germany). Before joining DIIR, he spent 20 years working in internal audit in the banking and construction industries and in the private equity sector, holding several leadership positions. Jan has a strong background in IT audit and information security and led DIIR’s “IT Audit (Industry)” working group for nearly ten years. Passionate about internal auditing, his mission is to prepare and empower the profession for the future

Prof. Miklos A. Vasarhelyi– Rutgers Business School

Miklos A. Vasarhelyi is KPMG Distinguished Professor of Accounting Information Systems at Rutgers the State University in Newark, New Jersey, USA. His research interests include continuous auditing, applied artificial intelligence, and analytic methods in accounting. He published 6 volumes of AI in accounting in the period of 1989 to 2005. Miklos got his PhD at UCLA and has taught at PUCRJ (Brasil), USC, Columbia, and for the last 35 years at Rutgers. He heads the CarLab and Rutgers AIS has been ranked #1 worldwide for the last 20+ years.

Prof. David A. Wood - Brigham Young University (BYU)

Dr. David A. Wood is passionate about understanding new technologies and implementing them into the curriculum of Brigham Young University, where he works as the Glenn D. Ardis professor of accounting. He has published over 230 articles in a combination of respected academic and practitioner journals, monographs, books, and cases, including a recently released book on AI titled, “Rewiring your Mind for AI: How to Think, Work, and Thrive in the Age of Intelligence”. He has helped companies and organizations around the world learn about and implement GenAI and other tech topics. He was previously named by Accounting Today one of the 100 most influential people in accounting.

While the program includes items related to catering (food and beverages), the purchase of a ticket does not entail any entitlement to specific catering arrangements as outlined in the program. Program elements are subject to change; however, the ticket price generally covers participation in all listed agenda items.

Please note that accommodation is in addition to the conference registration fee and should be paid in accordance with the payment terms of the respective hotel. No special Conference Rate available. Please arrange a hotel reservation yourself and make sure to book as early as possible as we cannot guarantee that additional rooms are available once the hotels are fully booked.

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