why the next generation may be accounting’s greatest competitive advantage | slc

young professionals bring adaptability and media literacy that firms need in an ai-driven era.

“this is not something that is small,” mason says, describing a period in which firms move from outdated, manual processes toward configurable technology, redesigned workflows, and expanding use of advanced ai. in the past year, she says, development accelerated tremendously, not only in tools, but also in the willingness of people inside firms to adopt them. 

for grewal, the pace is no longer theoretical. she observes the profession is “in the center” of the change it has spent years predicting, particularly as new entrants bring different expectations around technology and work.

mason stays optimistic
asked how she remains positive about change, mason traces her mindset back to a practical, process-driven approach to work. she describes herself as someone who gets frustrated by inefficiency and manual tasks — the type of professional who will rebuild a process rather than accept it simply because “that’s how it’s always been done.” 

she illustrates the point with an example from early in her career. mason explains she began her career at a time when paper workflows were still common, requiring teams to photocopy documents, make handwritten notes, and manually input data into systems. as an intern at grant thornton, she built an ocr-enabled workflow using excel and an import file to reduce time spent on repetitive processing. 

that pattern, she says, shapes how she views the current moment in accounting. each new wave of technology creates an opportunity to eliminate low-value work and move people into higher-impact roles faster. 

“i don’t want to sit at my desk typing things into excel all day,” she says. mason argues that technology should push accounting professionals toward advisory work — conversations with clients, deeper business understanding, and critical thinking. 

ai fear shows up as control
grewal asks mason what she hears when firms express fear about ai, and what that fear looks like in practice. 

mason says the concerns are often indirect, surfaced as questions about security, reliability, training, and governance. for many accountants, she says, discomfort stems from uncertainty — including the “black box” nature of large language models. that uncertainty can trigger a need for control and hesitation around adoption. 

mason says she has spent significant time asking professionals what they think about ai. in many cases, she says, the underlying issue is limited understanding of how the technology works and how to apply guardrails that fit a regulated, risk-aware profession. 

mason also notes that adoption of language-model tools appears to be moving quickly in the broader market because the interface is intuitive. it does not require specialized training to begin using it, she says; people can interact with it in ordinary language. 

but for accounting, mason argues, raw power without guardrails raises legitimate risk. she warns that professionals can be misled by plausible-sounding outputs, especially if tools rely on unreliable sources. over time, she says, the profession will move toward ai-enabled workflows built specifically for accounting use cases — technology configured to support quality, consistency, and professional standards rather than open-ended experimentation. 

“trust but verify” in the ai era
when grewal asks what mason would caution younger users about, mason returns to a familiar professional principle: “trust but verify.” 

she frames verification as more than an audit habit. in a world where the internet includes misinformation — and ai tools can reproduce it — she says media literacy becomes essential. younger users, she adds, often bring stronger instincts around skepticism online because they grew up navigating rumor, misinformation, and fast-moving digital platforms. 

as ai-generated content becomes more convincing, mason argues that verification and due diligence are no longer specialized skills reserved for journalists and investigators. they are everyday competencies, especially for professionals responsible for client outcomes. 

what firms should trust young professionals to do
grewal asks whether organizations are truly trusting younger professionals with the new tools and new ways of working. 

mason says firms are split. some organizations embrace experimentation, betting that innovation will come from those who grew up adapting to technology. others respond by locking down access to ai systems or firewalling tools entirely, concerned about confidentiality, accuracy, and the risk of exposing sensitive information. 

neither extreme is a long-term solution, mason says. the profession will need a middle ground: policies and workflows that enable innovation while building professional skepticism and risk awareness in the next generation. 

“blue skies” and the permission to learn
late in the episode, grewal asks mason to name a theme for the year. mason calls it “blue skies,” borrowing a skiing term for clear weather and fast conditions. for her, the phrase signals a year of fewer obstacles and faster innovation — a year she expects people to look back on as a turning point. 

grewal asks what mason hopes students and young professionals give themselves permission to do. 

“learn,” mason says. 

she urges younger professionals to build the skill of learning itself: knowing how they learn best, staying adaptable, and expanding beyond a narrow technical track. mason argues that the skill sets once associated with entrepreneurship — rapid learning, quicker decision-making and comfort with uncertainty — are becoming more valuable inside firms as well. 

change is coming, mason says — and the profession’s future depends on how willingly people decide to engage it. 

10 key takeaways 

1. 1. accounting is in a revolutionary moment—not an incremental shift. the profession is not simply modernizing tools; it is entering a fundamentally different operating environment. 
   2. ai fear often masks a desire for control. within firms, resistance to ai typically manifests as concerns about security, training, or unpredictability.  
   3. guardrails—not lockdowns—are the answer. completely blocking ai tools is not a long-term solution. firms must build structured workflows and professional guardrails that allow innovation without exposing clients to unnecessary risk.  
   4. “trust but verify” matters more than ever. ai outputs may sound confident and polished, but that does not make them correct. professional skepticism and verification remain essential — especially as ai tools train on mixed-quality internet sources. 
   5. media literacy is a competitive advantage. younger professionals often bring stronger instincts for questioning online information. in an ai-driven environment, the ability to evaluate sources and verify claims becomes a core professional skill. 
   6. the future belongs to curious learners. the most valuable skill in a rapidly changing profession is learning quickly and effectively. 
   7. critical thinking is replacing manual work. technology will continue to eliminate low-value, repetitive tasks. this shift should move professionals into advisory, analytical, and strategic roles earlier in their careers. 
   8. rapid learning, faster decision-making, and comfort with uncertainty — once associated mainly with entrepreneurship — are becoming essential inside accounting firms as well. 
   9. technology will not eliminate the need for accountants. instead, the profession will evolve toward higher-value services built on judgment, interpretation, and client insight.  
   10. the future is not something to wait for, but something to build. all generations must actively shape what comes next. 

posted on february 26, 2026