Gravitating to gen AI: CPA leaders show increased interest

Interest in the implementation of generative artificial intelligence tools has risen among CPA decision-makers in business and industry over the last year, a steady progression that could signal rapid change on the horizon.

Thirty percent of business executives in the quarterly AICPA & CIMA Economic Outlook Survey said they are experimenting with generative AI in business applications, a modest rise from 23% a year ago. However, the percentage not even contemplating the use of generative AI dropped from 56% to 38% in the survey of 273 CPA decision-makers.

“The data suggests we’re right on the cusp of broad adoption of gen AI,” Tom Hood, AICPA & CIMA’s executive vice president–Business Growth & Engagement, said in a news release. “We’re rapidly moving from the contemplation to experimentation phase. This technology has seen faster take-up rates than other adoption cycles, so we expect implementation to move quickly as well.”

Just 6% of those surveyed in November have actually implemented generative AI tools in one or more business functions, up from 4% last year, but adoption should continue to rise as understanding of AI capabilities increases and concerns about AI risks subside.

Thirty-four percent of survey respondents expressed significant concerns related to privacy, ethical, and accuracy-related risk, down from 40% a year ago. While 35% of business executives said they had security policies and protocols in place, 58% said they did not.

More information on gen AI and its impact on accounting and finance can be found in a series of reports by CPA Canada and the AICPA, and CPA.com — the business and technology arm of the AICPA — which has released a generative AI toolkit for accounting professionals.

— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Bryan Strickland at Bryan.Strickland@aicpa-cima.com.