Brian Wolohan

Executive summary

Brian is the principal-in-charge of Audit Innovation at Grant Thornton Advisors LLC. In this role, he leads a team that develops analytics, artificial intelligence, and automation to facilitate the efficient delivery of high-quality audits. In this role, Brian serves on numerous task forces with the Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Additionally, he previously served on the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board’s (PCAOB) Data Analytics Task Force.

Prior to joining Grant Thornton, Brian served as the senior director of Professional Practice, Policy and Research at the CAQ. During his tenure, he worked with senior members of the profession, regulators, and other stakeholders to advance regulatory and public policies that promote audit quality and address critical and emerging issues facing the industry. He also led the preparation and issuance of comment letters to the PCAOB, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), and others on proposed standards and rules affecting the audit profession.

Prior to joining the CAQ, Brian served as associate director in the PCAOB's Office of Research & Analysis, where he designed and developed many of the audit risk assessment methodologies used by the PCAOB to inform its risk-based inspections program. He conducted research and trainings on structured financial products, fair value of illiquid instruments, and best practices in fraud risk assessment.

He has performed extensive analysis on market risks and audit implications and served as a commissioner on the National Association of Corporate Directors’ (NACD) Blue Ribbon Commission on Risk Governance. Earlier in his career, he served as director of Corporate Development at AOL, where his responsibilities included strategic planning, enterprise valuation, deal negotiation, and acquisition integration. He also worked in the Accounting Policy group, where he conducted financial due diligence on venture capital investments and business combinations and was responsible for accounting for AOL's multi-billion-dollar securities portfolio.

Brian began his career as an auditor in Grant Thornton's Atlantic Coast practice, where his focus included public stock and debt issuance, private placements, and accounting for financial instruments and securitizations.

Professional qualifications and memberships

• CPA (Virginia, Washington DC, Maryland)
• AICPA member

Community involvement

• PCAOB Data and Technology Task Force (prior)
• CAQ Data Analytics Task Force (member)
• CAQ Emerging Technologies Task Force (member)
• AICPA Data Analytics Guide Working Group (member)
• NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on Risk Governance (prior)

Presentations and Publications

• Are You Ready to Get Hired? (2023 webinar)
• Grant Thornton Awarded Patent for Whole Ledger Analytics (2021 press release)
• You Have a Choice; Choose Audit Innovation (2021 video) 
• Data Analytics in Accounting (2021 webcast)
• Harnessing Insights From Audit Innovation (2021 article)
• Making the Most of Analytics and Technology (2020 webcast)
• Have Audits Changed Forever? (2020 webcast) 
• The Reality of Audit Innovation Today (2020 video)
• Audit Innovation has Arrived (2019 webcast) 
• How Innovation is Changing Audit (2018 video) 
• Why Boards Should Expect More from their Audit (2018 article) 
• Innovation Drives Quality and Value in the Audit (2018 video) 
• SEC Starts EPS Rounding Probe (2018 article) 
• Guide to Audit Data Analytics (2017 book) 
• Put Audit Data Analytics Into Action (2017 video) 
• Risk Governance: Balancing Risk and Reward (2009 white paper) 

Education

• MBA and a Masters in Finance, University of Maryland at College Park (2003)
• BS, cum laude, University of Maryland at College Park (1997)