AI has steadily captured more attention from finance and tax leaders since ChatGPT’s debut three years ago: In fact, the technology’s rise has led to an explosion of new startups and businesses offering AI-powered “Office of the CFO” solutions that can help automate key processes such as reconciliations or speed up the financial close or budget cycle, CFO Dive previously reported.

While finance chiefs are taking closer looks at AI’s potential benefits, accurate and compliant reporting remains the top priority for CFOs. When it comes to ensuring that accuracy, simply having a human in the loop isn’t enough — the tools themselves must be what Michael Bernard, chief tax officer for tax automation provider Vertex termed as “human in scope.”

“In other words, the tools that are going to be built in the future for tax departments or for finance groups, finance people have to come up with those ideas,” he told CFO Dive in an interview.

Making space for AI  

Finance and tax leaders are locked in something of a holding pattern when it comes to AI: many are convinced the technology will be ubiquitous in the future, but have yet to see it fully integrated into their workflows in the present.

For instance, in an annual survey of corporate tax department leaders released in January, Thompson Reuters found 43% of respondents said they had used AI for “their own personal work, but just 6% call their wider departments active users of the technology,” the report said. “Still, 88% said they believe AI will be a central part of their workflow within the next five years.”

The slower creep of AI can be put down to numerous factors, Bernard said, such as businesses first integrating AI into customer-facing solutions before tackling the back office, as well as the fact that CFOs “know their reporting has to be accurate,” Bernard said.

“A lot of what CFOs are waiting on is…tools that are incredibly accurate, and those tools haven't hit the market yet,” he said.

Bernard has served in his role as VP and CTO for the King of Prussia, Pennsylvania-based tax automation solutions provider since March 2018. He joined Vertex after a 28-year career at software giant Microsoft, where he served as general manager and U.S. Tax Counsel, according to his LinkedIn profile. His past experience also includes serving as a tax attorney for the Union Pacific Railroad and as a tax consultant for Big Four firm Deloitte. 

Still, finance and tax leaders today are already thinking about how to build out a place for AI inside of their businesses and their own departments — as well as how the technology will have to mesh with the skills and expertise of employees. Thompson Reuters’ survey found in seeking tax personnel, a rising number of leaders are searching for candidates that can fill “hybrid roles.” The report found 52% of respondents were looking to fill roles where “both tax and tech are expected functions” in 2025, compared to 47% in 2024.

When examining the balance between hiring skilled financial talent and investing in technology, “it's a delicate one, but it always goes around what's required for our reporting and finance groups,” Bernard said, as well as ensuring employees can “shape the technology” to meet the “proper scope and outcome and deliver it,” he said.

Finance comes first

While technology skills are becoming more critical, traditional accounting and finance knowledge remains paramount. One of the top challenges facing CFOs looking for skilled talent is that the “accounting profession feeds the tax profession,” Bernard said, and the accounting profession is still suffering from an ongoing talent shortage.

“They’re trying to build their tax departments for the future, and they have to do it with non-CPA or non-accountant type people who have an aptitude for accuracy and are lifelong learners,” Bernard said.

In recent years, leaders have moved to address the shortage of qualified certified public accountants, with a rising number of states signing off on alternative pathways to obtain a CPA license, CFO Dive has previously reported. Enrollment in the accounting profession has also grown: The number of undergraduate students enrolling in accounting has grown for the past three consecutive semesters, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants said in June, with new accounting students for the 2025 spring semester jumping by 12% year-over-year.

While AI use is likely to become more commonplace inside of the finance function in recent years, for Bernard’s part, he finds it unlikely that AI or automation will ever fully replace humans in the finance or accounting fields, because “you simply cannot put financial reporting on autopilot,” he said.