Grant Thornton launches gtap to transform audit delivery across U.S. practice

Proprietary, cloud-based infrastructure increases consistency and builds foundation for quality-focused, AI-enabled agentic audit model

CHICAGO — The audit and assurance firm of Grant Thornton in the U.S., Grant Thornton LLP, today announced that it has launched gtap, a proprietary audit infrastructure that is redefining how the firm performs audits.

By rolling out gtap — which stands for Grant Thornton Analytics & Automation Platform — the firm is ushering in a new era of AI-enabled, agent-assisted audit execution. This approach is allowing its U.S. Audit & Assurance professionals to continue their move beyond traditional, labor-intensive audit procedures.

Grant Thornton created gtap from the ground up to operate as the intelligent core of audit delivery. It embeds analytics, automation and AI directly into each stage of the audit lifecycle. And its cloud-based, self-service infrastructure standardizes how audit data is ingested, transformed and analyzed. This creates a single, trusted data foundation that powers intelligent audit procedures, automates workpapers and unlocks advanced analytics.

The gtap infrastructure works with data from any ERP system and replaces historically fragmented tools with a unified, secure environment that enables full-population analysis and delivers audit-ready outputs at scale. It also allows for AI-driven workflows that can automate routine and transactional audit activity. In addition, gtap opens the door to intelligent agents that can surface risks, anomalies and insights in real time — while auditors maintain oversight, guiding the process and ensuring the integrity of the work.

"This represents one of our most significant investments in the future of audit," said Ron Messenger, CEO of Grant Thornton LLP. "We are transforming how we audit and how we serve our clients, moving toward a data-led model that improves both the quality and efficiency of our work. By automating the transactional parts of the audit, our teams can focus their time where it matters most: helping clients by exercising professional skepticism and judgment, assessing risk and delivering real-time insights that help drive trust in the capital markets."

Grant Thornton will introduce gtap first with private company audits before expanding into public company audits next year as part of a phased rollout to the full U.S. Audit & Assurance practice.

Re-architecting audit execution

With the launch of gtap, Grant Thornton is re-architecting audit execution itself — using AI and automation to raise quality, increase consistency and significantly change how it delivers value to clients.

"This is not about layering technology onto yesterday's audit," added Messenger. "We're building something entirely different, while reinforcing that our professionals remain in control of the decision-making process and the judgments that matter most."

Grant Thornton built gtap to grow: Beyond its initial capabilities, the infrastructure is designed as the foundation for an agentic audit model where intelligent agents increasingly orchestrate audit activity, continuously assess risk and adapt procedures as new data emerges.

“As AI advances, gtap will advance with it,” said Mike Kempe, chief information officer of Grant Thornton Advisors LLC. “The future depends on delivering audits that have more autonomy, generate better insights and are more aligned with how modern businesses operate.”

A focus on quality and client benefits

Grant Thornton's approach to AI in audit is anchored in quality and professional oversight. Technology enhances the work, but professionals supervise every step.

“Our gtap technology strengthens audit quality at every level,” explained Messenger. “By embedding automation, analytics and AI directly into audit execution, we’re increasing consistency across engagements and reducing variability and manual steps where errors and risk can occur. The result is audit work that is more resilient, more repeatable and more transparent. When you build quality into the process itself, you raise the standard across the board.”

That commitment also extends to the client experience. By streamlining how teams receive and process client data, gtap reduces the back and forth that has historically added time to the audit process. This gives clients faster data readiness, earlier visibility into risks and trends, and a more continuous, insight-driven engagement. And it allows teams to provide value more quickly, ultimately deepening trust, strengthening relationships and positioning Grant Thornton as a leader in modern audit delivery.

"When you put the right tools in people's hands, they do their best work — and clients feel the difference," said Messenger.

Built across borders

The gtap rollout underscores the value of the Grant Thornton Advisors multinational platform, a rapidly expanding group of nearly 20 aligned firms spanning the Americas, Europe, the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region. This group includes Grant Thornton Ireland, which originally developed gtap for use in its market, and subsequently enhanced it as a collaborative effort with Grant Thornton's U.S. technology team. This approach to audit innovation demonstrates an ability to bring together shared investments in technology, while preserving independence and accountability across audit businesses.

"We believe gtap is a great example of what makes our model so valuable," said Kempe. "We’re taking a proven solution, scaling it across regions and building in next-generation technology, including agentic AI capabilities, to make it an even more powerful tool. This is a major milestone, but it's part of a much bigger roadmap; we're continuing to invest in automation, AI and tools that make every part of Grant Thornton sharper and faster."

To learn more about Grant Thornton’s Audit & Assurance offerings, visit: www.grantthornton.com/services/audit-and-assurance-services.

About Grant Thornton

Grant Thornton delivers professional services in the U.S. through two specialized entities: Grant Thornton LLP, a licensed, certified public accounting (CPA) firm that provides audit and assurance services — and Grant Thornton Advisors LLC (not a licensed CPA firm), which exclusively provides non-attest offerings, including tax and advisory services. In January 2025, Grant Thornton Advisors LLC formed a multinational, multidisciplinary platform. The platform offers a premier advisory and tax practice, as well as independent audit practices.

Grant Thornton is part of the Grant Thornton International Limited network, which provides access to its member firms in more than 150 global markets. 

Grant Thornton LLP, Grant Thornton Advisors LLC and their respective subsidiaries operate as an alternative practice structure (APS). The APS conforms with applicable laws, regulations and professional standards, including those from the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

“Grant Thornton” refers to the brand under which the member firms in the Grant Thornton International Ltd (GTIL) network provide services to their clients and/or refers to one or more member firms. Grant Thornton LLP and Grant Thornton Advisors LLC serve as the U.S. member firms of the GTIL network. GTIL and its member firms are not a worldwide partnership and all member firms are separate legal entities. Member firms deliver all services; GTIL does not provide services to clients.

About the Grant Thornton Advisors multinational platform

The Grant Thornton Advisors multinational platform is a group of firms within the Grant Thornton International Limited network that connects priority markets and operates with aligned standards, technology and delivery expectations. Firms remain locally led and legally separate. The Grant Thornton International Limited network provides access to its member firms in more than 150 global markets.

The platform is currently home to almost 20 aligned firms stretching from the Americas across Europe and the Middle East to the Asia-Pacific region. These firms bring together almost 25,000 professionals to deliver cross-border solutions powered by advanced technologies, a shared commitment to quality and a growing reputation as the industry’s employer-of-choice. The platform firms operate as separate legal entities.