AI, Accountability, and the Future of Finance: Aaron Harris’ 2026 Outlook

As AI becomes embedded in everyday financial decision-making, the question is no longer whether finance teams will use intelligent systems, but who will be accountable for trusting them. In his 2026 predictions, Aaron Harris explores how leadership roles in finance and accounting are shifting – why CFOs are stepping into AI assurance, how trust is moving from principle to proof, and why technology leadership is becoming central to the future of the profession.

1. CFOs take the lead on AI assurance 

AI is already in the room influencing how teams plan, how customers are supported, and how finance gets its work done. As this technology plays a bigger role in day-to-day decisions, there’s a growing expectation that CFOs will take accountability for how they behave: whether the data is sound, whether the recommendations make sense and whether the outputs actually support the goals of the business. 

This shift is being driven by pressure on all sides. More decisions are being generated by AI, regulators are paying closer attention, and the risks are concentrating in systems that can learn faster than any team can review. Finance leaders simply won’t be able to rely on blind trust, because in finance, “almost right” is wrong. CFOs will expect AI to earn trust the same way their teams do: by showing how it got there. They’ll need visibility into why a model reached a recommendation, whether the underlying data holds up and how reliably those decisions can be traced and audited. 

When CFOs understand and trust the systems working beside them, they can move faster, make better calls and take huge amounts of manual oversight off their teams. And like any critical contributor, AI will earn its place only when its decisions can be explained, examined and relied upon. 

2. Trust moves from principle to proof in accounting AI 

Finance doesn’t run on ‘close enough’, the numbers are right, or they’re wrong. So generic claims about responsible AI won’t cut it anymore. Businesses want to see how a model reached a recommendation, how its data is governed and whether its output can withstand an audit. 

These aren’t nice-to-haves; they’re the baseline for using AI in financial workflows. In 2026, trust becomes something you can measure. We’ll see the first wave of independent assurance applied to AI systems, with firms assessing models behind reconciliation, forecasting and anomaly detection. And we’re already seeing the groundwork, major accounting firms like PwC and KPMG launched dedicated ‘AI assurance’ services last year to bring external scrutiny to data integrity, model governance and compliance. 

If AI is going to support critical financial work, it has to hold up to the same level of professional oversight that finance teams live with every day. 

Trust won’t be earned through vague promises or statements, it will be earned through evidence, because if a model is going to support financial decisions, it needs to be as transparent as a spreadsheet – and you should always be able to see how it got there. 

3. The CTO becomes the hottest job in accounting firms 

As intelligent systems take on more of the execution layer in finance, someone needs to guide how those systems behave – and yes, I’m biased, but the role best positioned for that is the CTO. We’ve been preparing for this moment for a long time. 

In many firms, technology leadership will shift from supporting the business to shaping it. The leaders who treat technology as the source of innovation – not just a stack of tools – will stand out. Those ahead of the curve will spot where AI can streamline workflows, strengthen accuracy and open entirely new advisory opportunities. They’ll also give teams the confidence and skills to work effectively with intelligent systems.  

And when teams take that first step with AI, something interesting happens: once they see it work even once, trust grows quickly. That confidence snowballs. The hardest part is getting started, after that, the benefits become obvious. 

The firms that invest in this capability now – the leadership, the mindset and the skills – will move faster for clients, offer better advice and stand apart in a profession that’s evolving quickly.