The Bulgarian National Audit Office to Introduce Artificial Intelligence developed by INSAIT in Public Procurement Audits Starting in 2027

The Bulgarian National Audit Office is set to begin using artificial intelligence (AI) to examine public procurement procedures in audits conducted under its 2027 Annual Audit Programme.

The ODIS project, aimed at integrating artificial intelligence into the audit process, is a joint initiative between the Bulgarian National Audit Office and the Institute for Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence and Technology (INSAIT) at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. Its first module, ODIS PPA (Public Procurement Audits), focuses on verifying the compliance of public procurement procedures with the applicable legislation.

Today, Dimitar Glavchev, President of the Bulgarian National Audit Office, and Borislav Petrov, Executive Director of INSAIT, signed a Cooperation Agreement between the audit institution and INSAIT in the field of artificial intelligence.

“The Bulgarian National Audit Office is taking an important step towards modernising the audit process. The time required to examine each public procurement procedure, which typically ranges from two days to over a week, depending on its scope and complexity, will be cut in half through the use of the AI-powered system. Saving time on routine tasks will enable auditors to focus on more complex cases and handle a larger volume of audits,” said Dimitar Glavchev during the meeting.

The President of the Bulgarian National Audit Office further emphasised that the ODIS project would support audit activities solely through suggestions and automation, while all analyses, assessments and conclusions would remain entirely and exclusively the responsibility of the auditors.

“We want to develop technology that not only assists auditors at the Bulgarian National Audit Office but also serves as a model for public administration. Many institutions have requested that we develop AI products to support their operations. The Bulgarian National Audit Office and INSAIT are setting an example, even for the rest of Europe, of how such a model can be developed,” said Borislav Petrov, Executive Director of INSAIT.

The agreement aims to explore opportunities for innovation and AI-based applied solutions that can support the Bulgarian National Audit Office across all aspects of the audit process. The collaboration will encompass consultations on potential projects and technical solutions, the development of experimental software systems, the creation or adaptation of AI models tailored to the institution’s needs, as well as training on the use of pilot solutions.

The ODIS PPA module, scheduled for full-scale implementation in 2027, has already been successfully tested in a real-world environment. The solution is designed as a specialised professional AI assistant for auditors, powered by the Bulgarian language model BgGPT. The assistant independently retrieves information about procurement procedures from the Centralised Automated Information System for Electronic Public Procurement (CAIS EPP). This includes key parameters, requirements and templates, contracts, bidder information and other publicly available data. The system also incorporates every new amendment to the Public Procurement Act and its implementing regulations.

The AI assistant supports auditors by automatically processing the large volumes of initial data associated with each procurement procedure for audit purposes. It generates suggestions on audit matters, accompanied by supporting justifications and references for verification. Auditors review the information provided and, where necessary, supplement it with additional audit evidence in the form of documents, while retaining full control over the process.

The system also identifies potential discrepancies and deviations from the applicable legal framework. However, only the auditors’ professional judgement and analysis can determine whether the identified inconsistencies actually constitute violations.

Full protection is also ensured for the information and the entire workflow. Audit documents, checklists and reports, as well as findings, assessments and conclusions generated during the audit, are stored in an environment isolated from external access, including the internet.

ODIS also provides auditors with additional tools to facilitate their work, such as searching for specific information, comparing different versions of documents, converting scanned documents into data suitable for processing and analysis, and other functionalities.

Over the past year, ODIS has evolved from a pilot project into a system delivering tangible benefits to the institution. A phased training programme is set to be rolled out for all auditors at the Bulgarian National Audit Office responsible for overseeing the legality of public procurement procedures. Auditor training is scheduled to begin as early as next week.

In the next phase, the project will be expanded with additional functionalities to further support the work of the Bulgarian National Audit Office, including the processing of large datasets and document collections, financial audits, and assistance with strategic and annual audit planning, among other applications.