AI Lessons Learned for Accountants

Instructor

Garrett
Wasny

This course provides accountants with the leading AI insights and strategies drawn from real-world experience, empirical studies, countless CPA case studies, and social media commentary. It goes beyond theory, offering practical lessons learned from the front lines of AI implementation in the business world and accounting industry. Participants will gain actionable knowledge on bridging the theory-application gap, navigating exponential technological changes, and creating secure, adaptive AI policies. By the end of the session, accountants will be equipped to leverage AI responsibly and innovatively in their roles. This event may be a rebroadcast of a live event and the instructor will be available to answer your questions during the event.

Learning Objectives

After attending this presentation, you will be able to...

Design effective prompts to extract meaningful, context-rich responses from AI in financial contexts.

Identify strategies to overcome AI’s "lazy" response defaults and elicit deeper analysis.
Apply multi-layered prompting techniques to explore topics from different perspectives and depths.
Evaluate the impact of using candid and contrarian prompts for balanced financial insights.
Use specialized prompts to uncover ripple and cobra effects in financial scenarios.
Develop an "Avoid Stupidity" checklist for avoiding common mistakes in AI-assisted financial tasks.
Integrate perspective-based prompts to receive responses tailored to accounting-specific viewpoints.
Automate repetitive accounting tasks by prompting AI for optimized workflows.
Utilize emotion-driven prompts to improve the quality and engagement of AI responses.
Implement practical prompt engineering techniques to enhance accuracy and depth in financial analysis.

Major Topics

The major topics that will be covered in this course include:

Introduction to Prompt Engineering: Basics of structuring effective prompts for meaningful AI responses.

Understanding AI's "Lazy" Defaults: Why LLMs provide basic answers and how to push them to deliver richer insights.
Multi-Layered Prompting: Techniques to encourage AI to provide responses across beginner to expert levels.
Candid and Contrarian Responses: Using prompts that elicit honest and balanced insights, even on controversial topics.
Ripple Effect and Cobra Effect: Probing the broader impacts and unintended consequences of financial decisions.
Avoid Stupidity Checklist: A practical prompt for reducing mistakes in AI-assisted accounting tasks.
Role-Based Perspective Prompts: Crafting prompts that guide AI to respond from specific professional viewpoints.
Automation Ideas: Leveraging AI to optimize repetitive accounting tasks.
Emotion-Driven Prompting: Exploring how emotion-focused prompts can enhance AI performance and engagement.
Practical Applications in Accounting: How to apply prompt engineering in real-world financial analysis and decision-making.

CPE Credits Available

2 CPE

2: Information Technology

Things to Know About This Course

Course Level

Basic

Professional Area of Focus

Technology

Advanced Preparation

None

Intended Audience

This course is ideal for CPAs, financial analysts, auditors, and accounting managers who want to lead in AI adoption responsibly, manage AI-driven risks, and foster a culture of continuous learning and innovation within their organizations.

November 15, 2025