Q&A: How AI-Driven Contract Analysis Can Help Audit Firms Thrive in the Era of Private Equity

Nita Sanger knows audit and consulting. She’s been in the business for more than 25 years, spending more than a decade at Deloitte before moving to (relatively) smaller businesses where she could have an outsized impact and drive significant change.

Renowned as a growth strategy and revenue optimization expert, Nita excels in driving accelerated growth for firms with revenues ranging from $10M to $9B, in addition to turning around underperforming businesses.

Now, as CEO of Idea Innovate, Nita specializes in helping Private Equity firms and other investors maximize returns from their portfolio companies. AI is a major contributor to increasing margins.

She spoke to us about the opportunities tax and audit firms have in this moment of technological change to boost margins, improve audit quality, and maintain competitive advantage.

Nita Sanger, CEO, Idea Innovate

eBrevia: The audit industry is undergoing significant transformation, particularly due to private equity ownership. What’s driving this change, and how should firms respond?

Nita Sanger: The transformation is being driven by two forces: changing client expectations and the rapid evolution of technology. Private equity is certainly accelerating the pace by demanding better margins and scalable models, but fundamentally, clients are asking for more value. Traditional audit delivery has been very manual — 95% of the effort was spent on ticking and tying, and only 5% on offering meaningful insights. That backward-looking approach no longer satisfies clients who want forward-thinking, actionable intelligence to run their businesses more effectively.

What AI enables, particularly through solutions like contract analysis, review, and drafting, is a decoupling of delivery from client service. The mechanics of audit can now be automated, freeing professionals to focus on interpreting findings, consulting with clients, and driving strategy.

eBrevia: How does AI specifically change how audit professionals work?

Sanger: Historically, auditors weren’t comfortable playing the role of adviser. Their role was to validate and ensure compliance. But now, they’re being asked to shift from doers to thinkers. AI is removing repetitive tasks, which means professionals must develop more consultative and analytical skills.

Take contract analysis, for instance. Tools like eBrevia’s Contract Analyzer can rapidly process thousands of agreements to uncover patterns, risks, or anomalies that might otherwise go unnoticed. That doesn’t eliminate the auditor. Rather, it amplifies their ability to deliver insights. What used to take junior staff weeks now takes minutes, allowing senior professionals to interpret the data and engage clients with more strategic recommendations.

eBrevia: Are audit professionals open to this change — to doing less execution and more strategic work?

Sanger: It’s a mindset shift, and it’s been slower in audit than in legal, where providing insight is part of the core function. Auditors have traditionally been more focused on the process. But the pressure from private equity, from regulators, and from clients is making change inevitable.

Many professionals are starting to appreciate that AI doesn’t replace them — it elevates them. The challenge is reskilling and retraining to be more comfortable with using technology and delivering value through interpretation.

eBrevia: Beyond labor efficiency, how does AI improve audit quality?

Sanger: This is a crucial point. AI doesn’t just make things faster, it makes them better. In audits, especially when reviewing contracts, firms often rely on sample testing. You simply can’t go line by line through every contract manually. But when you apply AI, you can review the full contract population. That enhances completeness, reduces risk, and improves audit quality.

Features like eBrevia Lens allow firms to query their entire contract database to identify exceptions or verify compliance with new standards in a few minutes. That level of transparency was impossible before. AI is turning audit from reactive quality control into proactive risk management.

eBrevia: How does private equity ownership amplify the need for solutions like AI-driven contract analysis?

Sanger: Private equity expects fast growth and healthy margins. They’re not interested in how you get there, they just want results. That forces firms to rethink their entire operating model.

They’re asking: How can we do the same or better work, at lower cost, faster? AI plus offshoring is a winning combination. If you’re already sending work to lower-cost markets, and then layering AI — like eBrevia’s Prep to estimate complexity upfront or Contract Analyzer to reduce labor hours — your margins improve dramatically.

But firms also need to be mindful. Eventually clients will expect to see those savings reflected in fees. So smart firms are using the opportunity to shift pricing models toward value-based billing.

eBrevia: Let’s talk about pricing. How is AI forcing a rethink of traditional billable hour models?

Sanger: This is a major disruption. When a task that used to take 100 hours now takes 10, billing by the hour becomes unsustainable. That’s where firms must pivot to outcome-based pricing. Clients care less about how long something takes, and more about the value it delivers.

Audit firms can look to legal for examples, as some are already moving toward flat-fee engagements or tiered pricing based on complexity. AI tools like Prep, which cluster similar documents at the start of a project, allow for much more accurate project scoping and pricing. That creates predictability for both firms and clients.

eBrevia: What role does integration play in making AI work within existing firm operations?

Sanger: Integration is absolutely essential. Most firms use a combination of systems, such as document management, ERP, CRM, etc. If AI sits outside that ecosystem, it creates friction and limits adoption.

That’s why capabilities like eBrevia Connect, which links AI into platforms like Salesforce and SAP, are so powerful. You’re not asking professionals to change their workflow, you’re embedding intelligence into what they already do. That’s how you drive adoption and unlock real value.

eBrevia: What are the implications for firm structure, particularly the traditional pyramid model with lots of junior staff?

Sanger: That model is already under pressure. If AI can do the work of junior professionals faster and more accurately, firms don’t need to hire at the base of the pyramid the way they used to. Instead, they’ll need more mid- and senior-level professionals who can interpret results, advise clients, and design solutions.

In the short term, this is creating a talent gap, especially at firms that haven’t reskilled their workforce. But over time, we’ll see a rebalanced structure: leaner, flatter, more expertise-heavy at the top.

eBrevia: How do audit standards and expectations around quality change as AI becomes more prevalent?

Sanger: Standards are getting stricter. AI enables better testing and broader coverage, so regulators will expect more. But critically, responsibility doesn’t shift. An auditor can’t say, “AI did this, so I’m not liable.” The auditor still signs off, and that means their judgment, oversight, and skepticism remain essential.

AI is a tool, not a substitute for professional standards or ethical responsibility. Firms need to ensure their teams are trained not just to use the technology, but to understand its limitations and their continuing accountability.

eBrevia: What cultural or leadership shifts are needed to successfully adopt AI?

Sanger: This is where many firms struggle. Audit, by nature, is a conservative industry. People are used to doing what they did last year. Change is uncomfortable, especially when it’s constant.

Leaders need to create a culture of continuous learning and innovation. That means over-communicating about why change is happening, providing ongoing training, and celebrating early wins. Most importantly, they need to position AI not as a threat, but as a partner in helping people do more meaningful, less tedious work.

eBrevia: Final thoughts: What’s your message to firms hesitating on AI adoption?

Sanger: In the end, it’s not about the technology. It’s about finding solutions to pain points. The pain right now is clear: shrinking margins, growing complexity, talent shortages, and pressure to deliver more value. AI can solve those problems, especially in high-volume, high-risk areas like contract analysis.

Solutions like eBrevia aren’t just “nice to have” anymore. They’re essential to doing the work better, faster, and smarter. And the firms that embrace this shift early — and bring their people along on the journey — will be the ones that stay ahead.

About eBrevia

Established in 2011 and trusted by some of the world’s most prestigious companies, eBrevia is a leader in AI contract analysis and management with clients in the US, EMEA, and APAC. For over a decade, eBrevia serves law firms, corporations, audit/consulting companies, and financial institutions, such as Baker McKenzie, Norton Rose Fulbright, Kroll, SAP, Intel, PwC, EY, and MUFG.