March 6, 2026 · 5 min read
The global economic order is changing fast, and artificial intelligence is playing an ever greater role in these transformations. At the 56th World Economic Forum in Davos this topic became one of the central themes in the discussions of the world’s political and business leaders. The main emphasis of the debate shifted: AI is no longer viewed merely as a tool for automation. The talk is now about AI as an autonomous agent capable of making decisions on its own, working with large volumes of data and transforming entire business processes.
For fields built on standardised procedures and figures — accounting, audit, financial control — this means fundamental change.
Accounting and audit in the new technological reality
One of the forum’s key messages: fields whose structure has remained almost unchanged for decades are today getting a powerful impulse to reform.
Which processes are automated first
Speakers gave concrete examples of areas where AI is already being actively adopted and will quickly grow its role:
- risk management and compliance, including AML procedures;
- credit underwriting and decision-making in banking;
- routine financial processing of documents and supplier assessment;
- automatic coding of financial transactions.
Wherever there are large volumes of data and repetitive operations, AI delivers the fastest effect. For business this means a need to rethink not only IT tools but also the approaches to financial control, tax reporting and compliance.
The changing role of the specialist
This transformation does not mean professions will disappear — it changes their focus and the substance of the work.
The role of junior specialists is gradually shifting from producing reports to verifying the results of the AI’s work, analysing context and applying professional judgement. In other words, the technical part will increasingly be done by an algorithm, while responsibility for the substance, interpretation and consequences of decisions will remain with people.
Strategic benefits for business
Hyper-productivity
The forum cited examples where data processing that used to take 12 hours now takes a matter of minutes.
For business this means:
- faster management decisions;
- real-time analytics;
- less dependence on manual work.
Accessibility of the technology
The cost of using AI models has fallen substantially in recent years. This opens up opportunities not only for large corporations but also for small and medium-sized businesses.
Redesigning processes
An important emphasis of Davos: it is not enough simply to automate individual steps. Business needs to rethink the entire value chain, adapting the operating model to working with AI agents.
This means changing internal policies, IT architecture and control procedures.
Risks: responsibility and control
Alongside the opportunities, the risks were actively discussed.
Who is responsible for decisions made by AI?
One of the central debates is the question of responsibility. Can AI be considered a decision-making subject? Should responsibility remain solely with people?
Most speakers insisted on the “human in the lead” principle — the human keeps leadership, control and the final decision. For the finance function this is critical: an error in accounting or reporting has legal and reputational consequences. That is exactly why it is important for companies to have well-tuned internal control procedures and regular audit of their financial statements.
Cyber threats and fraud
AI makes not only analytics but also fraud easier. The risks of cloning executives’ voices to issue fake financial instructions were mentioned. This calls for stronger internal control, a review of access regimes and multi-level verification of transactions.
Transparency of the models
Trust in AI services is impossible without a clear understanding of how they work. The forum separately discussed requirements for the transparency of training data, model structure and operating principles. For business, especially in finance, it is critically important to be able to interpret the results produced by algorithms and assess how well-founded they are. Working with a technology that remains a “black box” creates additional risks — both operational and regulatory.
Regulation and standards
Technology develops faster than legislation.
The forum voiced ideas about:
- introducing mandatory safety standards for AI products;
- industry self-regulation and codes of conduct;
- the need to adapt the professional standards of accounting and audit to the new reality.
For companies this is a signal to act proactively: to develop internal rules and standards for using AI regardless of the pace of state regulation.
What this means for Ukrainian business
For Ukraine the question of AI is not only about technology, but also about competitiveness.
- AI as digital labour. Countries are actively investing in scaling AI agents as a tool for economic growth.
- AI literacy is becoming the new currency. The productivity gap between those who use AI and those who do not is growing rapidly.
- Internal control procedures need updating. The focus is shifting from manual control to auditing the results of AI.
For Ukrainian companies this means the need to:
- train management and finance teams;
- strengthen internal control — in particular, clearly defining responsibility for decisions made with the involvement of AI, and introducing additional mechanisms for verification and cyber-protection;
- invest in a systematic approach, not just in individual tools.
The 2026 World Economic Forum marked an important turning point: AI is ceasing to be an auxiliary tool and is becoming an active participant in business processes.
Accounting and audit are entering a phase of deep transformation. Routine processes are being automated. Speed is increasing. At the same time, responsibility, control and professional judgement remain with people. It is the quality of these elements that will determine the resilience and competitiveness of business in Ukraine in the coming years.
