AI as an Intelligent Control: Evidence from Italy on Governance, Risk, and the Transformation from Manual to Intelligent Accounting

Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming accounting by automating cognitive tasks and redefining mechanisms of governance and risk control. This study examines how AI operates as an intelligent control system—one that substitutes manual accounting procedures while enhancing transparency, internal control, and fraud detection. Integrating the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with Organizational Information Processing Theory (OIPT), the research develops a behavioral–organizational framework linking perceived usefulness, ease of use, AI literacy, technology readiness, social influence, and facilitating conditions to AI adoption and perceived substitution benefits. A structured survey was administered to accounting students and practitioners in Northern Italy (n = 185) and analyzed through reliability tests and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results show that AI literacy, facilitating conditions, and social influence significantly drive adoption intention, while perceived substitution benefits fully mediate the relationship between adoption and governance outcomes. The findings demonstrate that AI adoption enhances governance and risk management effectiveness by functioning as an intelligent control mechanism. The study introduces the AI-to-Control (A2C) Blueprint to guide responsible integration of AI into accounting systems, reframing AI adoption as a structural evolution in corporate governance rather than a mere technological upgrade.