The AI Revolution in 2026: What CPAs Need to Know - VIRTUAL

Overview

AI is reshaping audit, tax, and finance. This update surveys what's real in 2026: core concepts, major tools, risks/controls, and practical CPA use cases. Leave with a clear vocabulary, a current landscape view, and actionable talking points for staff, clients, and vendors.

Prerequisites

None

Objectives

• Assess recent advancements in AI and their implications for CPA workflows and client services. 
• Distinguish key AI categories and common terminology used in practice. 
• Identify high-impact CPA use cases and associated risk/control considerations to discuss with stakeholders

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Highlights

• State of AI technology in 2026: capabilities, limits, and vendor landscape
• Essential terminology: models, training data, prompts, agents, guardrails
• CPA use cases: audit procedures, tax research/drafts, controllership
• Risk, control, and governance: data privacy, bias, accuracy, documentation
• What's next: near-term trends and how to evaluate new tools