Audit of the future: Bradesco increases efficiency by 65% with Microsoft Azure

Bradesco, one of the largest private banks in the country, faced the challenge of optimizing its internal audit—a crucial area that deals with sensitive data and a complex environment.

To address this, the Global Internal Audit (AIGL) team developed AILA, an AI assistant built using Microsoft Azure tools. The solution was created by the audit team itself, resulting in a user-friendly interface with highly familiar language.

Since AILA’s creation, Bradesco has completely transformed its audit process. The initiative led to a 65% gain in planning efficiency, allowing the team to better allocate resources and strengthen governance. This significant boost in operational efficiency and result accuracy has generated even greater strategic value for the organization.

The challenge of auditing at Bradesco: seeking efficiency in a complex scenario

Bradesco’s Global Internal Audit (AIGL) is a vital area responsible for ensuring the integrity and security of operations, handling extremely sensitive data daily. The growing volume of information and regulatory complexity posed challenges to the agility and depth of analysis, demanding significant time from the team on operational tasks.

It was in this context that AIGL turned to technology to optimize its work. “In a scenario of continuous pursuit of operational efficiency and budget constraints, we needed to be creative in finding scalable solutions with high added value,” comments Maurício Azzolini Avelar, Audit Manager.

Vivian Gentille, Senior Manager, adds, “For us, innovation is not just a guideline. It is an essential tool to strengthen governance, anticipate risks, and position internal audit as a strategic partner of the organization.”

With this mindset, the team developed an innovative solution using Azure to transform the audit process, aiming for greater agility and accuracy. “AILA’s proposal was clear: to automate operational or repetitive tasks, allowing auditors to act with analytical depth and focus on the most relevant business risks,” concludes Vivian Gentille.

AILA: AI at the service of auditing

Bradesco implemented Microsoft Azure OpenAI to create AILA, an AI assistant for Internal Audit. The choice of the Microsoft platform was based on the security and reliability required to handle critical information, as well as the support provided by Microsoft professionals during the development stages. “The partnership with Microsoft was essential to ensure a robust and secure technological foundation. At the same time, we had complete freedom to adapt the solution to our needs, which reinforces the team's leadership in the technology adoption curve,” reinforces Maurício Azzolini Avelar, Audit Manager.

According to Rafael Fernandes, IT Audit Coordinator, “The reliability and robustness of the Microsoft platform were essential for us to move forward safely with AILA’s implementation.”

AILA functions as an intelligent assistant for the team, offering a user-friendly interface and accessible language. It facilitates data analysis, regulation comparison, and risk identification, allowing auditors to focus on deeper analysis. “The solution has transformed the dynamics of auditing. We’ve evolved toward a more strategic performance, based on analytical intelligence and delivering outcomes that generate direct value for the organization,” explains Vivian Gentille.

How AILA empowered the audit team

AILA not only automated tasks but, more importantly, expanded the capabilities of the internal audit team. The auditors themselves adapted and customized the solution using Azure OpenAI, tailoring it to their specific needs. According to the team, the key to maximizing AI’s potential lies in crafting effective prompts—a skill that is continuously refined and shared via Microsoft Teams.

A clear example of the impact of this approach is in identifying root causes. Maurício Azzolini Avelar emphasizes the importance of prompt quality: “Identifying the root cause has always been a challenge. Today, we have structured prompts—recognized internally as success cases—designed to provoke reflection rather than just deliver direct answers. One prompt encourages defining the root cause; the other guides the analysis and broadens the reasoning and approach. Both enhance the team’s cognitive capacity and elevate the quality of our deliverables.”

This ability to ask the right questions has turned AILA into a true analytical partner.

Optimizing processes, multiplying results

With AILA fully operational, Bradesco’s internal audit not only optimized its processes but also redefined its performance indicators.

Planning—which previously required many hours of manual research and preliminary analysis—saw a dramatic reduction in time allocation. According to Maurício Azzolini Avelar, “Compared to 3 or 4 years ago, with the same execution time, we’ve been able to significantly expand risk coverage in each audit. This expansion is a direct result of the intelligent automation integrated into our audit strategy.”

He adds, “Integrated with the time allocation tool, we observed a 65% reduction in time spent on the planning phase, which is the most critical and important stage of an audit.”

Equipped with an intelligent tool tailored to their needs, the team began to see tangible results, redefining how auditing is conducted at the bank. “In the reporting phase, which used to be very manual and time-consuming, we achieved a 55% gain. This allows auditors to focus their efforts on refining content and ensuring final quality,” explains Avelar.

“Beyond writing efficiency, the overall workflow gain—including proofreading—is 50%. This means doing more, doing it better, and with less.”

In addition to optimizing planning and reporting, AILA has also improved the identification of the root cause of problems. With AI analyzing data patterns deeply and quickly, the time required for this step was reduced by 20%, making it easier to resolve issues and strengthen corrective and preventive actions. And the benefits, according to Mauricio Avelar, are also intangible, “I’d go further. We’ve gained not only in efficiency and time, but also in quality.”

Vivian Gentille explains, “AILA has expanded our analytical capacity, connecting information and anticipating risks that previously required much more effort to detect.”

Ease of use drives adoption and a culture of innovation

The positive impact and user-friendly interface of AILA accelerated its adoption by the team, optimizing a critical function and, more importantly, strengthening a culture of innovation and efficiency within AIGL. As Vivian Gentille highlights, “AILA represents more than automation—it integrates an ecosystem that combines artificial intelligence, critical thinking, and strategic vision, projecting audit into the future.”

This internal recognition and the way the team embraced the solution opened doors for the future. Bradesco plans to expand AILA’s use, exploring new features and applications within the audit function and potentially in other areas of the bank.

The success of AILA is seen by Bradesco as a milestone, demonstrating the potential of AI to optimize processes and add strategic value. Looking ahead, Rafael Fernandes, IT Audit Coordinator, states, “AILA is just the starting point. We are committed to the continuous expansion of AI in our processes, focusing on scalability, efficiency, and the generation of sustained value.”

By enabling the audit team to do more and better with less, AILA not only improves efficiency but redefines the role of auditing in Bradesco’s future. For Rafael Fernandes, IT Audit Coordinator, the sentiment is clear, “This gain in efficiency means doing more, doing it better, and with less.”

Maurício Avelar celebrates the new level the team has reached, “Today, we are a reference in the development of strategic indicators—not just audit metrics. And that was only possible with the support of our AI.”

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