Trust in Practice: Preparing Accounting and Finance for 2040

With participation from the Illinois CPA Society and other state societies and stakeholders, the AICPA and CIMA have been facilitating an initiative called Rise2040, which has identified the competencies and capabilities expected to keep accounting and finance professionals relevant in the decades ahead. Across Rise2040 discussions and other similar initiatives, participants have repeatedly pointed to “trust” as a defining issue for the profession’s future. As more of our work becomes automated, what will make clients, colleagues, and decision makers continue to trust the conclusions we provide? Recognizing the importance of trust is only the beginning; the challenge for professionals and organizations is determining how to strengthen it in practice.

Trust is the foundation of our profession’s work. As artificial intelligence (AI) takes on more of the analysis and pattern recognition side of our work, the human skills that remain valuable are built around trust: judgment, professional integrity, and ethical responsibility. One of the prevailing concepts of Rise2040 is the idea of “Human in the Lead,” a trademarked term used to highlight the importance of humans defining strategy, establishing ethical safeguards, and being accountable for the work, even when AI is involved.

The concept of Human in the Lead is similar to “Human in the Loop” and “Human on the Loop,” with each reflecting a different form of human involvement:

• Human in the Lead: Individuals define the direction, set ethical boundaries, and retain accountability for AI use.
• Human in the Loop: Individuals review outputs and correct the AI system as needed.
• Human on the Loop: Individuals monitor AI performance and intervene if the system behaves unexpectedly or gets off track.

Consider a controller reviewing an AI-generated variance analysis before it goes to leadership. The system can flag which accounts moved and by how much, but it may not know that a vendor relationship changed during the quarter or that a number looks good because an assumption in the model is now out of date. These judgments belong to the controller instead of the system. Trusted individuals remain at the core of ethical technology use. Think about where this same distinction appears in your own work: What does the technology know, and what do you know that the technology does not?

Rise2040 discussions also point to another shift: As accounting and finance professionals move into more advisory and decision-making roles, the need for good judgment will grow. Today’s professionals are being asked to interpret information, challenge assumptions, evaluate consequences, and help organizations navigate uncertainty with confidence. These evolving expectations are why critical thinking, ethical reasoning, and effective communication remain necessary capabilities in the profession’s future.

The foundation for that trust is being built today. Whether you are early in your career, leading a finance team, or advising clients, there are steps you can take now to strengthen the judgment and credibility that will increasingly define our profession.

Accounting and finance professionals can build trust by:

• Treating ethical reasoning as a core skill. Set aside time to think through and create a record of the judgment calls embedded in the work. When a new tool or process makes a task easier, ask what judgment it may be replacing, and make sure that judgment still gets exercised somewhere by a human and is documented.
• Questioning the inputs and outputs. As more analysis moves to AI, the profession’s value increasingly lives in the questions those systems cannot answer on their own. Practice framing these questions explicitly for yourself and your team and continually validate both the inputs and the outputs. For example: “What is the output assuming that may need to be updated? Does the analysis help explain the material results and the story behind them?” A technically correct answer is valuable if it reflects current assumptions, reliable data, and the realities of the organization.
• Refining skills and competencies. Communication, critical thinking, and trust are enduring skills that grow with practice. Look for projects, mentors, and training that enhance these skills alongside your technical development.
• Bringing judgment into uncertainty early on. Apply professional judgment early by questioning data, identifying risks, and challenging assumptions before conclusions are reached. When a situation feels unclear, resist the temptation to wait for more certainty before raising a concern or asking a question. Early judgment, even when imperfect, tends to serve organizations and clients better than judgment applied only at the end.

Firm and organizational leaders can build trust by:

• Building governance structures that support responsible AI use before adoption outpaces oversight. Establish clear expectations for how new AI tools are evaluated, documented, and reviewed, and revisit those expectations as the tools change over time.
• Strengthening ethical decision making through training and people development. Give your team members ongoing opportunities to practice, discuss, and see ethical decision making modeled by leadership. Talk about it in meetings and reward people for achieving success in trustworthy ways.
• Demonstrating consistency in decision making. Trust is built through thousands of decisions that demonstrate competence, consistency, and integrity. Organizations preserve credibility when sound judgment is exercised consistently and accountability is visible to both employees and clients. Trust erodes just as gradually, though, when small exceptions become accepted practice. As I mentioned in my summer 2026 Insight column, “Why Debriefs Matter in Accounting and Finance,” scheduling regular debriefs gives teams a structured way to reflect, adjust, and avoid relying on past assumptions that may no longer hold.
• Making judgments visible. When you catch an assumption that needs updating or ask a question that changes the direction of an engagement, talk your reasoning through with your colleagues rather than just making the correction. Create forums and discussions where you and others can share the reasons for business decisions.

Together, these actions reflect the future Rise2040 is asking the profession to prepare for: one shaped less by what technology can automate and more by what professionals choose to own.

As automation reduces the time spent on repetitive work, professionals have an opportunity to devote more attention to interpreting results, challenging assumptions, and advising decision makers. These opportunities will only be realized if the profession actively protects the qualities that make its work credible in the first place.

Technical expertise will remain essential, and so will the ethics and integrity that make it trustworthy. As protectors of the public interest, accounting and finance professionals are in a distinctive position to provide confidence where complexity creates uncertainty and to uphold standards when pressure might otherwise compromise them. Ultimately, trust is our profession’s enduring strategic advantage, and it will continue to create opportunities to serve our clients, organizations, and communities well into the future.