Accounting Pros Now Have a Voice at the AI Table

For the first time, I’ll be taking the realities of accounting professionals and small businesses into a global conversation about the future of artificial intelligence (AI). 

I’ve been invited to participate as part of the Canadian delegation at the United Nations AIFOD Geneva Summit, an invitation-only gathering of 600 participants. The summit brings together international leaders, policymakers, researchers, and technology experts to discuss artificial intelligence, economic sovereignty, governance, and the future of work.

This isn’t an event where anyone can purchase a ticket. Participation is by invitation, and those in the room will help shape conversations that may influence how AI is developed, governed, and adopted around the world.

Accounting professionals and small businesses usually adapt to decisions after they have already been made. We implement new technology, guide clients through change, and deal with the consequences when it falls short. This time, we have an opportunity to bring those realities into the room while the conversation is still taking shape.

Although I am participating through the Canadian delegation, the perspective I bring reaches beyond Canada. My client and industry work connects me with accounting professionals, small businesses, technology companies, and industry leaders across Canada and the United States. That North American perspective, combined with my work alongside small businesses and the professionals who support them, was an important reason I was selected.

I do not take that responsibility lightly.

This is bigger than attending a summit or adding another credential. It is an opportunity to ensure the realities of small firms are heard in a global discussion that will affect how they operate, compete, protect information, and serve their communities.

Why this matters to accounting professionals

AI is already changing the accounting profession. Firms are using it to summarize documents, improve client communication, analyze financial information, and reduce repetitive work. Business owners are using it for marketing, planning, customer service, and everyday decision-making. The technology is moving quickly, but policies, training, and safeguards are not always keeping pace.

That leaves accounting professionals in a difficult position. We are expected to understand these tools, recognize the risks, guide clients, protect confidential information, and maintain professional judgment while standards are still evolving. We also see how AI affects small businesses differently than larger organizations.

Large companies may have legal departments, cybersecurity teams, technology specialists, and formal vendor-review processes. A small business owner may be making those decisions while juggling client meetings, payroll, month-end, and everything else.

AI governance cannot be built only for organizations with large budgets. It must also work for smaller businesses that need practical, affordable, and understandable guidance.

Small business cannot be an afterthought

Small businesses are often early adopters of technology because they need practical, affordable ways to compete. They can also be more vulnerable when something goes wrong. A business owner may enter confidential information into a public AI system without understanding where it is stored. A team member may rely on AI-generated content without reviewing it, or a firm may become dependent on a platform without knowing whether it can retrieve its data.

Treating small businesses as an afterthought makes little sense given their role in the North American economy. Small businesses and self-employed entrepreneurs together represent roughly 60% of the workforce in Canada and 52% in the United States.

Yet many AI policies and governance frameworks are designed for large organizations, assuming access to legal counsel, cybersecurity teams, procurement departments, technical specialists, and formal risk committees.

A small firm or independent entrepreneur may have one person responsible for finance, privacy, technology, compliance, and client service. That does not mean they should be excluded from AI adoption. It means the guidance must be practical enough to use.

Small-business experience must be included from the beginning, not added after the technology is built and the rules are written.

Accounting professionals are well placed to contribute because we understand trust, documentation, accountability, risk, and the consequences of getting information wrong. We also see the realities behind the numbers. That perspective belongs in the room.

We now have a chance to influence the conversation

Being invited to the summit does not mean I arrive with every answer. It means I have a responsibility to listen, ask better questions, and bring forward the experiences of people living with these changes.

I cannot speak for an entire profession or small-business community based only on my own experience. If I am going to bring their perspective to the United Nations, it must be grounded in what accounting professionals and business owners are actually seeing, using, questioning, and worrying about.

Where is AI making a genuine difference? Where are firms struggling? What is slowing adoption? What risks are being overlooked? What guidance would make responsible adoption more realistic for small businesses?

Those answers need to come from the people living them.

I need your input before the summit

To prepare, I created an anonymous questionnaire for accounting professionals and small businesses across North America. It asks how people are using AI, where adoption is getting stuck, what risks they see, and what support would help them move forward responsibly.

It is anonymous because I want honest answers, not polished responses. This is not about proving that AI is good or bad. It is about understanding what is actually happening.

Responses must be submitted by August 7, 2026, so I can review the findings and bring the most meaningful themes into the summit discussions from August 12 to 14.

The questionnaire is available here: https://forms.gle/MJ8joRb3VBrqzvjh9

The more thoughtful input I receive, the stronger that representation will be.

This article is the beginning of the story

This will not be a single article followed by silence. I plan to write a series for The Woodard Report covering the preparation, the issues being raised, what participation in the summit looks like, and what accounting professionals should understand as these conversations continue.

I will share what I learn, what surprises me, where progress is being made, and where significant gaps remain. I also want to show how global discussions like this unfold and where the small-business and accounting perspective fits.

There are difficult questions ahead. How do we protect professional judgment while using automation? Who is accountable when an AI-supported decision is wrong? How can small firms adopt AI responsibly without creating policies they cannot maintain?

There is also the broader question of AI sovereignty. What does control over technology, data, and decision-making look like for a small accounting firm or the businesses it serves? These issues are often discussed nationally or institutionally, but they have practical consequences for smaller organizations.

We have a seat. Now we need to use it.

This opportunity is bigger than one person, one summit, or one delegation. It gives accounting professionals and small businesses a chance to help shape how AI is developed, governed, and used.

We now have a voice at the table. The next step is making sure it reflects the people serving clients, managing risks, and helping small businesses adapt every day.

Please complete the anonymous questionnaire by August 7 and add your experience to the conversation.