Why Younger CPAs Are Essential to AI Readiness

Episode Summary
What does responsible AI look like inside the world’s most trusted profession?
Susan S. Coffey, CEO of Public Accounting at the AICPA, joins Kacee Johnson to explore the non-negotiable guardrails for AI in accounting and how the profession can innovate without compromising its standards.

They also get into:

• Why AI in accounting must remain auditable
• Why reverse mentoring with younger professionals accelerates AI fluency across firms
• How CPA education is shifting from knowledge to application

Featured Guest

Susan Coffey

Chief Executive Officer - Public Accounting, AICPA
Susan Coffey is CEO of Public Accounting at the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA & CIMA), where she leads the global strategy to advance the practice of public accounting. In this role, she sets direction for assurance, advisory, tax, and practice management initiatives in the U.S. and internationally, with a strong focus on strengthening the CPA talent pipeline, evolving the profession’s core services, and promoting the value and relevance of U.S. CPAs and CPA firms. Coffey is deeply engaged in helping the profession leverage emerging technologies, enhance practice quality, and pursue growth opportunities in new and evolving service areas, including ESG. A licensed CPA in New York and New Jersey and a CGMA, she has served in leadership and advisory roles with IFAC and the Global Accounting Alliance. Prior to joining the Association, she spent her early career in audit and assurance at PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Your Host

Kacee Johnson

Digits Advisor & Innovation Partner
Kacee Johnson is a leading figure in the accounting profession, recognized among Accounting Today's Top 100 Most Influential People, CPA Practice Advisor's Top 25 Thought Leaders, and as one of the Most Powerful Women in Accounting. She advises AICPA and CPA.com as an innovation partner and leads the Startup Accelerator program, mentoring startups that shape the profession's future. In 2025, she completed Harvard Business School's Executive Program on Private Equity and Venture Capital and joined the be radical team as a Principal in FinTech Innovation.