The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA and CIMA) has launched Rise2040: Shaping the Future of Finance and Accounting, a global initiative designed to help the accounting and finance profession navigate and influence the future of the profession.
Developed through discussions with more than 6,000 accounting and finance professionals across 25 countries, the initiative aims to provide ongoing insights into how the profession is evolving amid advances in artificial intelligence, expanding data capabilities and increasing business complexity.
“Rise2040 is not about predicting a single future, it’s about equipping the profession to actively shape it,” said Mark Koziel, CPA, CGMA, CEO of AICPA and CIMA. “We are at a defining moment. As AI reshapes how work gets done, our value will increasingly be defined by human judgment, trust, and the ability to lead in complexity. At the initiative’s core sits the Rise2040 AI platform and flagship report; both reinforce a defining insight … the future of the profession will not be determined by what happens to us, by the forces shaping it, but by how we choose to respond.”
According to the report, the profession is increasingly shifting from a focus on historical reporting to providing strategic insight, foresight and decision-making support. Participants identified five key forces shaping the future of accounting and finance: technology and data infrastructure, value model transformation, talent and workforce dynamics, regulatory and trust architecture and market and societal expectations.
“What emerged from this global effort is a profession that is not retreating from change but rising to meet it with humans in the lead,” said Tom Hood, EVP of business engagement and growth at AICPA and CIMA. “Professionals are already moving beyond compliance to become strategic advisers, data translators, and trust architects. The opportunity now is to accelerate that shift and building the capabilities, talent models, and leadership mindset needed to deliver value and trust in entirely new ways.”
The report notes that while technology and AI are transforming the profession, participants generally viewed those tools as amplifying the role of accounting professionals rather than replacing them. Instead, respondents identified resistance to change as a greater threat than technological disruption itself.
“A key takeaway from Rise2040 is that disruption alone isn’t the greatest threat, resistance to change is,” Hood added. “Across global discussions, participants emphasized institutional inertia as a more immediate risk than AI itself, underscoring the need for focused and intentional action.”
Unlike a traditional research report, Rise2040 is designed as an ongoing platform that will continue to gather insights and provide resources to firms, organizations and professionals as the profession evolves.
