Financial Reporting Symposium - Virtual-5 - Hood - AICPAs-Rise-2040-Vision-Report

5 - Hood - AICPAs-Rise-2040-Vision-Report

Pdf Summary

Tom Hood’s presentation on AICPA’s Rise2040 initiative frames the future of finance and accounting as a global, ongoing dialogue rather than a fixed forecast. The core message is that AI and digital change are accelerating, but the profession’s greatest advantage is still human trust, ethics, and judgment. In an AI-saturated world, trust becomes more valuable, not less.<br /><br />Rise2040 identifies five major drivers shaping the profession: technology and data, value and sustainability, talent and workforce, trust and assurance, and global shifts and society. Across these themes, the report emphasizes that technology is an amplifier of human judgment—not a replacement for it. The most important differentiators will be critical thinking, emotional intelligence, ethical reasoning, communication, and strategic advisory skills.<br /><br />A major insight is that the biggest barrier to progress is not AI itself, but cultural inertia and resistance to change. The profession must move beyond compliance and reporting toward forward-looking strategic advice, while also transforming its value model, workforce, and operating model.<br /><br />For major firms serving Fortune 500 clients, Rise2040 points to several opportunities:<br />- AI strategy, governance, and assurance<br />- Enterprise data governance led by finance<br />- Finance operating-model redesign<br />- Predictive analytics and scenario modeling<br />- Cybersecurity and data integrity advisory<br />- Trust and assurance services in automated environments<br /><br />Overall, the report suggests that large firms can create more value by helping clients manage AI, strengthen trust, redesign finance functions, and build more resilient, insight-driven organizations.

Keywords

AICPA Rise2040

future of finance

AI in accounting

human trust

ethical judgment

digital transformation

strategic advisory

data governance

trust and assurance

predictive analytics