2026 Accounting Trends: What’s Next for the Profession

If 2025 was the year AI entered the accounting workflow, 2026 is the year teams will be expected to own it. 

We’ve officially moved past the hype cycle with accounting and AI. The conversation has shifted from "What is this?" to "What is our strategy for adoption?" CFOs and Controllers are shifting from experimentation to accountability, focusing on data quality, building internal AI expertise, and integrating systems that drive real outcomes.

FloQast sits at the center of this evolution for accountants. As we help teams automate the close, strengthen compliance, and upskill their people with auditable, agentic AI, we are seeing clear patterns emerge across the industry. 

A recent Gartner CFO survey found that while 78% of CFOs are actively investing in AI and automation, only 47% believe their teams are equipped to use these tools effectively. That gap isn’t a small problem — it’s the defining challenge of the year ahead. 

Here are the five predictions shaping accounting and AI in 2026, and what you can start doing now to stay ahead.

Prediction 1: CFOs Will Bring AI Expertise In-House

For years, innovation was treated as a consulting project. That era is ending. In 2026, AI fluency will become a core internal competency. You can’t outsource your way to accountable AI, and IT alone can’t tell you how to automate financial workflows.

Finance leaders now recognize a simple truth: to trust the output, they must understand the engine behind it. That means accountants need new skills — how to prompt, review, validate, and govern AI systems. 

There is a rising demand for roles like: 

• AI Strategist / AI Program Manager
• AI Governance & Risk Manager
• AI Adoption & Enablement Lead
• Finance Transformation Lead

These aren’t sci-fi titles for some far-off high-tech business. They’re hitting the job boards already. 

How to Stay Ahead:

• Identify early adopters or “AI champions” within your team.
• Encourage structured learning. Programs like the FloQast Certified Accountant (FCA) accelerate AI fluency.
• Audit your current workflows and flag where internal competency matters most. 
• Treat AI readiness the same way you treat technical accounting skills: build it, measure it, reward it. 

Prediction 2: Accountants Will Shift from Preparers to Reviewers

The days of manual "ticking and tying" are numbered. In 2026, automation will increasingly handle: 

• Transaction matching
• Variance analysis
• PBC request management
• Manual close accounting checklists

This shift isn’t about replacing accountants — it’s about elevating them from preparers to reviewers. When the rote work is automated, accountants can focus on reviewing insights, improving controls, and supporting the business in more strategic ways. 

It also helps curb burnout — a critical issue given the ongoing talent shortage. 

Take it from Alex, a finance leader leveraging automation to improve culture: "Our leadership highly values employee morale. Before, people were staying up late during the monthly close, working long hours. Now, they're finishing at reasonable hours, improving both their productivity and their overall well-being."

How to Stay Ahead: 

• Document the most repetitive tasks on your plate and target them for automation first. 
• Build proficiency in exception management and oversight — core skills for the future reviewer role. 
• Strengthen analytical and communication abilities; interpreting results will matter more than assembling them. 
• Advocate for tools that reduce manual labor and free your team to focus on higher-impact work. 

Prediction 3: The Close Will Become Continuous (and Smarter)

The traditional close accounting process is reactive and stressful. The future is a continuous close, where reconciliation and anomaly detection run in the background, and the close becomes an ongoing process.

The next phase unlocks: 

• Fewer surprises uncovered earlier
• Shorter close cycles
• Better collaboration across accounting and finance

Manual checklists give way to exception management. The close becomes a flow, not a sprint. 

How to Stay Ahead:

• Introduce automated reconciliations and anomaly detection in your workflows (tools powered by AI Agents can help operationalize this). 
• Track improvements in cycle time, accuracy, and predictability to show impact. 
• Reframe the close internally as a continuous process, not a recurring fire drill. 
• Capture financial controls as they are happening, automating audit preparation.

Prediction 4: AI Strategy Will Become a Board-Level Topic

As AI becomes embedded in financial systems, the scrutiny increases. In 2026, boards and auditors will expect clear answers to questions like: 

• How is AI used in our financial workflows?
• How do we validate accuracy? 
• What controls govern automated processes? 
• Can we explain the rationale behind AI-generated results? 

With momentum building around the EU AI Act and SEC considerations, we anticipate the development of new standards regarding transparency and governance. The new benchmark for 2026 is "Audit-Ready AI" — systems that are auditable, explainable, and secure. The "black box" approach will not survive in a regulated finance environment.

How to Stay Ahead:

• Create or refine an AI governance framework that documents where AI is used and how its outputs are reviewed.
• Ensure every automated workflow has traceability and explainability. 
• Formalize approval and oversight processes for AI-based outputs. 
• Stay current on regulations. Much of the upcoming guidance directly impacts finance and accounting. 
• Do not work with AI vendors who haven’t achieved ISO 42001 (or equivalent) certification. It’s the clearest signal that their practices meet global standards for AI ethics, governance, safety, and accountability. 

Prediction 5: The Human Side of Accounting Will Matter More Than Ever

It sounds paradoxical, but the more we automate, the more human accounting becomes. 

When the ledger balances itself, your value comes from: 

• Judgement
• Scenario analysis
• Strategic guidance
• Storytelling and communication

Accountants will become advisors, not processors. This shift rewards those who can interpret results, communicate insights, and influence business decisions, not just produce reconciliations. 

How to Stay Ahead:

• Develop skills AI can’t replicate: critical thinking, communication, and organization-specific analysis. 
• Practice translating financial results into business narratives. 
• Build relationships across your organization. Your influence shapes outcomes. 
• Use AI to free yourself for high-impact work, not replace your work entirely. 

Conclusion:

Role-Based Takeaways 

For Finance Leaders (CFOs, Controllers) 

• Identify internal AI champions and encourage structured upskilling (like FCA).
• Map where your team spends the most manual effort today. Clarity comes before automation. 
• Start a simple AI ethics and governance outline (what could be automated, what risks to consider, and how oversight should work). 
• Strengthen data quality practices now; clean data benefits every future system. 
• Set expectations that transparency matters. We recommend only working with vendors who meet standards like ISO 42001.
• Embrace AI for CFOs and controllers, as these systems can help you complete your work too.

For Accounting Professionals

• Build AI literacy through FCA or other learning paths — no tools required. 
• Identify repeatable tasks you touch each month; this prepares you for future automation.
• Practice reviewing and validating system outputs (even in spreadsheets). 
• Strengthen communication and storytelling — translating the numbers is your differentiator. 
• Stay curious and experiment safely with AI where appropriate; adaptability is your edge. 

The accounting teams that thrive in 2026 won’t just adopt AI; they’ll own their approach to it. Whether you lead a finance organization or contribute to one, the path forward starts with clarity: understanding your processes, strengthening your skills, and laying a foundation for responsible and transparent AI use. 

Because AI won’t replace accountants. 

But accountants and finance leaders who embrace AI thoughtfully and proactively will shape the future of the profession. 

To hear what our CEO & Co-Founder, Mike Whitmire, and our CPO & Co-Founder, Chris Sluty predict for 2026, join our webinar on January 22nd, “2026 Accounting Trends: What’s Next for the Profession.”

FAQ: Accounting AI Predictions for 2026

1. How will AI change accounting jobs in 2026? AI will automate manual tasks, such as reconciliations and journal entries, allowing accountants to focus on analysis, strategy, and oversight. Roles like "AI Controller" or "Automation Specialist" will emerge, as AI skills will be needed for accounting.

2. Will accountants be replaced by AI in 2026? No. Accountants who embrace AI will become more valuable. AI handles repetitive work — humans provide the judgment, context, and compliance that machines can’t replicate.

3. How can finance leaders build AI skills in their teams? Start by identifying use cases already within your workflow (e.g., the close, audit prep). Encourage upskilling through certifications, such as FloQast’s FCA program.

4. What does ‘continuous close’ mean? Continuous close refers to using automation and AI to reconcile and analyze financial data in real-time, rather than waiting until month-end.

5. What are the most significant AI risks for accounting teams? Data privacy, model bias, and lack of explainability. Utilizing "audit-ready" AI tools, specifically designed for finance, helps mitigate these issues.

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