PwC award ceremony winter semester 2025/2026
On May 22, 2026, the Department of Business Administration and Economics at Dortmund University of Technology once again recognized outstanding academic achievements. As part of the 35th award ceremony, the auditing and consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) presented awards for particularly successful theses in the fields of controlling, accounting, auditing and taxation.
In his master's thesis, Data-based innovations and artificial intelligence in auditing - A systematic literature analysis, Arne Dornemann examines the influence of data-based innovations and artificial intelligence on the external audit of financial statements using a systematic literature analysis. The focus is on how technologies such as big data analytics, AI and machine learning are changing the audit process as well as the efficiency and quality of audits. The thesis also analyses the impact of digitalization on the auditing profession and identifies challenges such as data quality, regulatory uncertainties and skills gaps in the profession.
In her bachelor's thesis Capital procurement and investment capability of transmission system operators - More than just an appropriate return on equity?, Lilly Koch looks at the capital procurement and investment capability of transmission system operators in the context of the energy transition and the necessary expansion of the electricity grid. She analyzes how regulatory framework conditions influence the financing of large grid investments beyond the equity interest rate. The focus is particularly on the regulatory concepts of financeability, investability and financial resilience and their importance for ensuring investment capability.
The master's thesis "Management of IT service providers in the context of a BI system migration" by Jonas Weißbauer examines the implementation of a business intelligence system at the IT service provider Materna. The focus is on the development of a database for the management of project-oriented, knowledge-based services. Central aspects are the analysis of personnel deployment and the management of projects using multidimensional data cubes, for example for capacity utilization and project analysis. Internal service interdependencies, standardized capacity utilization reporting and project-related features such as acyclical invoicing are also taken into account. Finally, existing data and process limitations and possible improvements are discussed.
In his bachelor's thesis, Nils Wenzel analyzes the opportunities and risks of using artificial intelligence in auditing, in which areas AI can make auditing processes more efficient, evaluate large amounts of data and potentially improve the quality of the audit. At the same time, central challenges such as transparency problems of AI systems, legal and regulatory uncertainties, ethical issues and practical implementation hurdles are considered. Another focus is on possible changes to the job profile of auditors and the resulting new skills requirements. Finally, recommendations for action for auditing practice and regulation for the responsible use of AI are developed on the basis of the analysis.
Every semester, the PwC award ceremony honors outstanding academic work that is characterized by a special combination of theoretical foundation and practical relevance. Once again this year, it was clear that the award-winning work not only makes an important contribution to research, but also provides valuable impetus for business and society.
We would like to congratulate the award winners!