AI in Accounting and Finance Education

Preparing the accounting and finance profession for an AI-enabled future

To help the profession prepare for an AI-enabled future, we developed the Artificial Intelligence in Accounting and Finance Education Insights Paper. This detailed insights paper explores how AI is reshaping learning, assessment and professional capability and examines the opportunities, risks and responses emerging across education and the profession.

The core finding is that, while AI is inevitable, balance is key. Implementation needs to be tempered with human oversight and knowledge. This means accounting and finance professionals will continue to need technical knowledge, but it must be paired with AI literacy, critical thinking, and professional scepticism. Leaders must put strong governance and education strategies in place.

Watch for more insights

As part of our in-depth analysis of AI in accounting and finance education, we held roundtable events that brought together leaders from across accounting, finance, higher education, and technology to hear their expert perspectives that helped to inform the insights paper.

Key findings

Our AI in Accounting and Finance Education Insights Paper, explores perspectives across three key areas: AI in assessment, accounting and finance capability in the AI era, and employer support for AI education. Some expert assessments and key findings include:

Accounting and finance capability in the AI era

• With routine tasks becoming more automated, the profession’s focus must shift to aspects such as understanding context nuances, and making ethical judgements.
• Deep technical knowledge still matters more than ever. It’s critical for assessing and challenging convincingly plausible (but potentially flawed) AI responses.
• AI can help build skills via simulations, AI-enabled coaching and “mental sparring”, which can give early-career professionals more opportunities to practise decision-making in controlled environments.

AI in assessment

• AI can help move assessment beyond recall towards application, reasoning and real-world problem-solving, while also making the learning process more visible.
• AI has the potential to expand what assessment can do – including generating exams and tests, tailoring feedback, and enabling new types of assessment.
• Education institutions must show they’re maintaining appropriate human oversight.

CPA boardroom leaders discussing AI adoption and skills development

Employer support for AI education

• Redesign the work, not just the tech stack, because the biggest gains come from rethinking how humans and AI interact, collaborate and divide tasks.
• Match controls to risk, where low-risk AI assistance does not require the same oversight as high-stakes decisions. Governance should be proportionate, not one-size-fits-all.
• As AI absorbs junior-level tasks, managers must find new pathways for developing the next generation of leaders.
• AI use needs to be out in the open, in a culture of transparency and psychological safety.

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Content Summary

Preparing the accounting and finance profession for an AI-enabled future