Today we shipped Advanced AI (Audit Intelligence) on Autire, a new AI capability that automates exception analysis across Initial Reconciliation (IREC) and Data Intelligence (DI) audit steps. We also released targeted improvements to DI-8’s Definition of Plan Compensation Testing and enhancements to the Project Dashboard.
Here’s what Advanced AI does, how it fits into the audit, and what else shipped this week.
Advanced Audit Intelligence
Traditionally, EBP auditors spend significant time researching exceptions after testing. For each flagged item, the auditor opens source files on Excel, cross-references data between payroll and recordkeeper reports, and determines whether the issue matters. On complex plans with thousands of participants across dozens of payroll periods, that research can take several hours.
Advanced Audit Intelligence changes how that research is performed. An Analysis tab is now available on IREC and DI audit steps for v2025 plans. When an auditor runs analysis, Advanced AI reviews the full set of exceptions and returns research results and categorized findings.
What it does:
- Reviews exceptions and categorizes each by failure type, with source data and failure counts
- Shows whether an issue is isolated to one participant or systemic across an entire payroll run or deferral source
- Replaces the manual process of opening multiple files, cross-referencing data, and documenting findings by hand
Instead of investigating each exception individually, auditors review by pattern. If 15 participants failed for the same reason, Advanced AI groups them and explains why.
Auditors remain in control throughout the process. While Advanced AI handles data gathering and pattern recognition, the auditor decides what to do with what it surfaces.
Sharing findings with clients
Along with these upgrades, a new Audit Findings toggle is available which allows auditors to choose which findings to share to their clients within their portal. Clients can see grouped results by error type, export the detail, and respond directly in the app.
Developing AI on Autire
From the beginning, our approach to AI has been to tackle the hardest problems in EBP audits first. This meant the work that consumes the most hours and requires the most manual cross-referencing. Rather than adding surface-level AI features, we’re focused on where auditors actually lose time: researching exceptions across thousands of rows, reconciling dense source documents, and communicating findings to clients.
Autire’s audit methodology defines every test, every data source, and every compliance requirement. AI operates within that methodology — it handles the research, cross-referencing, and pattern recognition that auditors currently perform by hand. It does not make audit decisions. It knows which source data to examine and what a failure pattern means in the context of a specific plan, because Autire’s EBP experts define those rules.
This is what separates Autire’s purpose-built AI capabilities from generic AI tools. Because the AI operates within the guardrails of our methodology and EBP audit expertise, it produces accurate and relevant outputs specific to each plan. The AI layer makes the existing audit process faster.
Advanced AI is the first major release in this direction, and more capabilities are in development.
DI-8: Improvements to Plan Definition of Compensation Testing
Testing the definition of Plan Compensation (DI-8) examines whether deferral amounts were calculated based on a plan’s compensation rules — across every paycheck, for every participant, for the entire plan year. It’s the most data-intensive step in an EBP audit, even without Autire.
This release took feedback from clients and improved upon the DI-8 audit step. This improved the efficiency and scope of the testing by eliminating the two largest categories of false failures and streamlines the Analyze Tool for a better user experience.
Deferral sources on separate rows
Deferral sources, such as pre-tax, Roth, or after-tax deferrals, are now tested independently per paycheck. Split elections, like 5% pre-tax deferrals alongside a $100 Roth, no longer combine into a single amount that produces false failures. Each source is reviewed separately.
Multiple paychecks kept separate
Paychecks on the same date are no longer merged into one record. If a bonus paycheck was excluded from deferrals, it won’t contaminate the regular paycheck’s calculation anymore. The same applies to employees who work at multiple departments within the plan and receive separate paychecks with different deferral elections — each payroll run is now tested as its own record.
Analyze Tool — simpler to use
The DI-8 Analyze Tool has been streamlined for fewer clicks and now provides visibility by deferral source type directly. Identify failures by pre-tax, Roth, or after-tax without leaving the interface.
To see the changes, reimport the MPR and rerun DI-8 on a v2025 plan. The enhanced scripting and updated Analyze Tool won’t automatically appear on steps that were already run.
Project Dashboard V3
Project Dashboard V3 ships another phase of enhancements to the project management layer. These updates are designed for firms managing large plan volumes who want to reduce reliance on external spreadsheets, organize and prioritize plans, and track project status from within Autire.
Advanced filtering and saved views
Filter your project list using new data points, including plan year end date, project creation date, and assigned role — auditor, manager, or partner. You can also filter by recordkeeper to quickly isolate specific subsets of your plan list. Once you’ve built a filter you use regularly, save it by name. Saved filter views are accessible from a dropdown and persist across sessions.
Download with filter documentation
Exporting your project list now includes a tab documenting which filters were applied. When you share the export with a partner or manager not on Autire, the context travels with it.
Comment visibility indicator
A new dot indicator on the project list shows when a plan has open comments. You can hover to preview the comment without clicking into the plan, which is useful when reviewing Doc Gather comments across a large plan list.
The core audit workflow and step navigation are unchanged. These are practice management improvements that bring tracking and filtering into Autire so firms don’t need to maintain a separate spreadsheet.
Get Started
Try it now on Autire.ai
- Sign up for CPE or watch the archives later on Autire.ai
- Log in and run analysis on an IREC or DI step for a v2025 plan to see Advanced AI in action
- Reimport MPR and rerun DI-8 on a v2025 plan to see the updated testing output
- Open the Project Dashboard and try the new filters and saved views
Learn more
We offer CPE-credited training courses on industry topics and new features. Check for upcoming sessions and register on our training page.
