Black Box Blues - When Nobody Can Explain the Numbers

Whose Data Is It Anyway?

Client data does not belong to the firm. Student data does not belong to the university. So what happens when AI starts using that data in ways nobody agreed to? In the final episode of the series, AI hosts Alex and Sam look at data, consent and trust. A big global firm wants to train its own large language model on 'synthetic' data generated from years of confidential client information, and the technology team insists confidentiality is maintained. The IESBA Code says otherwise. Meanwhile, a university accounting department pilots an AI teaching platform whose plagiarism checker starts falsely accusing international students, while vague vendor terms leave open the question of whether student work is quietly training a commercial AI. The series closes with the line at the heart of it all: the accounting profession requires an inquiring mind, the exercise of professional judgement and ethical decision making with clear accountability. Those things cannot be automated. Explore the full case studies and ethical frameworks at ccab.org.uk.

Black Box Blues - When Nobody Can Explain the Numbers

'The AI identified them as anomalous' is not an explanation. It is just saying the same thing again. In this episode, AI hosts Alex and Sam tackle the black box problem: what happens when AI produces findings that nobody in the room can explain. At a mid-sized audit firm, an impressive AI audit platform flags transactions as high risk, but the engagement team cannot tell the client why, junior auditors have stopped exercising their own scepticism, and the engagement letter never mentioned that client data would pass through the platform's cloud servers. Then, in the boardroom of a listed technology company, an Audit Committee Chair discovers that significant parts of the financial reporting are automated by an AI system that neither management nor the external auditors can fully verify. The episode also points listeners to the FRC's recently published Generative and Agentic AI Guidance, a genuinely useful resource for any firm working through these questions. Explore the full case studies and ethical frameworks at ccab.org.uk.

Should You Trust a Bot With the Big Decisions?

A confession to start the series: your hosts are not human. Alex and Sam are AI voices, and this entire podcast was created using AI. Fitting, really, for a series about the ethics of artificial intelligence in the Chartered Accountancy profession. In this opening episode, Alex and Sam ask how much you should trust AI when the stakes are really high. First, a CFO under deadline pressure turns to a free AI tool to draft a three-year strategy, and discovers the night before the board meeting that it recommends outsourcing operations to a high-risk jurisdiction, built on questionable projections and uploaded confidential data. Then, a senior government accountant faces an AI system recommending the defunding of a long-running community health programme, based on training data that may be biased against the very communities the programme serves. Along the way: the five fundamental principles in the CCAB codes of ethics, why 'it's data-driven' should never become a shield for not thinking, and the accountant's duty to act in the public interest. Explore the full case studies and ethical frameworks at ccab.org.uk.

How will AI reshape culture?

In the second episode of the CCAB Ethical Leadership Podcast’s AI special, experts from across the accountancy profession discuss how AI could influence workplace culture, leadership, and professional development. AI has the potential to be both a positive and negative force on culture, and could impact multiple aspects of how we work together. Tom Parker brings in experts from across the accountancy profession to weigh up the pros and cons, and discuss how we can get the best from AI, while avoiding the worst. Links: * Ethics resources [https://www.ccab.org.uk/ethics-resources/] * ICAEW Ethics and Company Culture hub [https://www.icaew.com/technical/trust-and-ethics/ethics/ethics-media/ethics-and-company-culture] * CIPFA Conduct and Ethics standards [https://www.cipfa.org/members/conduct-and-ethics] * BR Insights publications [https://br-insights.com/publications] Guests: James Barbour, Director of Policy at ICAS David Lyford-Tilley, Head of Standards and Technical, CIPFA Laura Hough, Director of Trust and Ethics at ICAEW Wieke Scholten from BR Insights Host: Tom Parker Producer: Natalie Chisholm Episode recorded: 4 December 2025 A Hack Creative and First Touch production for CCAB

Can we use AI ethically?

Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the world of finance and accountancy. But as organisations explore its potential, an equally important question arises: can AI be used ethically? From data privacy issues to bias and hallucination, artificial intelligence poses a lot of difficult questions for accountants and business leaders. Is it even possible to use AI ethically? How do we mitigate the things we can’t control. Host Tom Parker is joined by several experts in ethics to discuss all of the issues raised by AI and how to address them.   Links: * Pointers for a firm’s Artificial Intelligence policy [https://www.accaglobal.com/content/dam/ACCA_Global/Members/members-in-practice/2021/technical-alert-01-2025-pointers-for-a-firms-ai-policy.pdf] * The ethics and governance of AI [https://www.charteredaccountants.ie/thought-leadership/articles-and-insights/insights-items/the-ethics-and-governance-of-ai] * The ethical use of AI tools in tax [https://www.icaew.com/technical/tax/working-in-tax/pcrt/topical-guidance-application-of-pcrt-to-ethical-use-of-artificial-intelligence-tools] Guests: Professor Susan Smith, Professor of Accounting at University College London and Chair of the CCAB Ethics Group Alistair Brisbourne, Head of Technology Research Within Policy and Insights Team for ACCA Conor Flanagan, Chair of the CAI Technology Committee Dr Giles Cuthbert, Former Managing Director of the Chartered Bankers Institute and a doctor in AI and ethics Host: Tom Parker Producer: Natalie Chisholm Episode recorded: 4 December 2025 AHack Creative and First Touch production for CCAB