Understanding the Need for Ethical AI Use in Accounting

As we continue to integrate Artificial Intelligence (AI) into accounting platforms, teams who are learning to become AI-enabled in their processes are now transforming the way their finance team operates. Tasks that once took up a significant portion of the team’s time are now more efficient – supported by AI and automation.

For professional services firms, these developments can create opportunities to improve efficiency and give finance teams more time to focus on higher-value work.

However, greater use of AI also introduces an important consideration: how can firms benefit from the technology without compromising the accuracy, confidentiality and professional judgment expected from their accounting function?

At D&V Philippines, we believe AI should support accounting professionals rather than replace their expertise. As AI becomes more embedded in everyday accounting tools and workflows, responsible adoption requires firms—and their outsourcing partners—to establish appropriate controls around how these technologies are used.

Why Ethical AI Use Matters in Accounting

Accounting is built on trust. Both individuals and entities alike depend on their trusted accounting team to maintain accurate records of their finances, safeguard confidential information, and provide financial insights – regardless of AI integration, these expectations remain true for every accounting team.

While AI-powered tools can process large amounts of information, recognize patterns, and generate outputs quickly, their results are not automatically accurate. Generative AI systems can misunderstand context, produce incorrect information, or present unsupported conclusions with confidence.

For accountants, relying on these outputs without appropriate review can introduce unnecessary risk.

This is why ethical AI in accounting should begin with human accountability. AI may assist with a task, but accounting professionals should remain responsible for reviewing its outputs and applying the professional judgment required to determine whether those outputs are appropriate.

For professional services firms working with an outsourced accounting provider, this distinction is important. Technology should improve how accounting services are delivered without weakening the controls, confidentiality and oversight clients expect from their finance function.

Read: Why Accountants Need to be Proficient in Accounting Technology

How AI is Changing Various Accounting Processes

AI is already becoming part of the technology accounting teams to use every day.

Accounting platforms such as QuickBooks, Xero, and Sage have introduced AI-supported capabilities. At the same time, productivity platforms including Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace are incorporating generative AI into their applications.

General-purpose AI tools such as ChatGPT have also expanded the ways professionals can approach research, drafting, summarization, and analysis.

Within accounting, AI and automation can support activities such as transaction categorization, document processing, anomaly identification, information retrieval, and preliminary analysis.

These capabilities can reduce time spent on repetitive activities. However, adopting them responsibly requires more than simply giving employees access to an AI tool.

Accounting firms and outsourced service providers need to understand what information a tool can access, how that information is processed, and what limitations apply to its outputs.

Accounting Platforms and their AI Policies

Before adopting an AI accounting solution, firms should review the provider's current terms, privacy practices, AI policies and acceptable-use or fair-use requirements. They should also consider whether the account being used is a consumer, business, or enterprise product because the protections and data practices can differ.

Here are some examples involving platforms accounting teams may encounter.

OpenAI and ChatGPT

OpenAI requires users to comply with its usage policies and makes users responsible for evaluating the accuracy and appropriateness of AI-generated outputs.

Its data practices also differ depending on the product being used. Content submitted through individual ChatGPT services may be used to improve OpenAI's models unless the user opts out. OpenAI states that business data from ChatGPT Business, ChatGPT Enterprise, and its API are not used to train its models by default.

For an accounting organization, the distinction matters. Employees independently using consumer AI accounts can create a different risk profile from AI to use within an organization-approved business environment.

Microsoft Copilot

Microsoft has established responsible AI principles covering areas including fairness, reliability and safety, privacy and security, transparency and accountability.

For eligible organizational use, Microsoft also provides enterprise data protection and states that prompts, responses, and organizational data accessed through Microsoft Graph are not used to train its foundation models.

Even with these protections, firms should maintain appropriate access controls. An AI assistant connected to organizational information can only be as appropriately governed as the permissions surrounding that information.

Google Gemini

Google states that customer data in Workspace is not used to train or fine-tune the generative AI models supporting Workspace without customer permission or instruction.

Google's terms also address the growing use of AI agents. Organizations remain responsible for deciding whether an agent is appropriate for a particular use, determining what applications and information it can access and providing appropriate supervision.

This highlights an important consideration for accounting teams: as AI becomes capable of taking actions rather than merely generating responses, human oversight becomes even more important.

QuickBooks

Intuit's responsible AI principles emphasize areas such as human talent, fairness, accountability, transparency, privacy and security.

QuickBooks also advises users not to make important business or financial decisions based solely on information produced by Intuit's generative AI features.

For accounting professionals, this reinforces a fundamental principle: technology can support financial work, but professional review and judgment should remain part of the process.

Xero

Xero's terms include a fair-use principle intended to prevent excessive or unreasonable use of its services.

Its AI-powered assistant, Just Ask Xero (JAX), works according to existing user roles and permissions. Xero also states that information processed by vetted third-party large language model providers through JAX is not retained to train those LLMs.

Xero has additionally introduced restrictions preventing data obtained through its APIs from being used to train or contribute to AI and machine-learning models.

Protecting Financial Data and Client Confidentiality While Using AI

Confidentiality has always been fundamental to accounting. AI gives firms another reason to reinforce it.

Accounting teams may handle bank information, payroll records, invoices, contracts, tax information, financial forecasts, and other sensitive records. Entering this information into an unapproved AI application could expose it to processing outside the firm's approved technology environment.

For professional services firms, these concerns can extend beyond internal company policy.

Depending on the organization and services involved, businesses may be subject to privacy, cybersecurity and professional requirements governing how financial and client information is handled. Tax professionals, for example, have specific responsibilities surrounding the use and disclosure of tax return information.

An outsourced accounting provider should therefore approach AI adoption with the same emphasis on confidentiality that applies to the rest of the accounting process.

Before an AI tool is incorporated into a workflow, relevant questions can include:

• What information will the AI system receive?
• Where and how will that information be processed?
• Is information retained by the provider?
• Can submitted information be used for model training?
• Which third parties may process the information?
• What user permissions apply?
• Does the intended use comply with client, regulatory and organizational requirements?

These questions help firms determine whether an AI application is appropriate for a specific accounting activity rather than assuming that convenience alone justifies its use.

The Importance of Human Oversight

In an accounting environment, transparency does not necessarily mean understanding every technical component of an AI model. Instead, teams should understand what role AI plays in a workflow, what information it uses and where professional review is required.

For example, an AI-enabled system may help identify an unusual transaction. The technology can bring the item to the accountant's attention, but determining whether the transaction represents an error, an expected business activity, or an issue requiring further investigation still requires context.

The same principle applies when AI assists with research, analysis, or documentation.

Accounting professionals should be able to explain the reasoning supporting their conclusions rather than relying on what AI says.

This principle supports our approach to AI-assisted work at D&V Philippines: technology can help our professionals perform their responsibilities, but human oversight remains an important part of the process.

Read: What Should You Expect in the First 90 Days of Accounting Outsourcing

D&V Philippines’ Approach to Responsible AI Use

Our approach to AI starts with a clear principle: AI should elevate human expertise, not replace it.

We recognize the opportunities AI can create for accounting professionals, but we also recognize that adoption should be supported by appropriate controls.

Our publicly documented approach includes mandatory AI utilization training across the organization. This helps our professionals understand both the potential applications of AI and the responsibilities associated with its use.

AI tools also undergo vetting by our IT Department to assess whether they meet our security standards before they are introduced into our working environment.

Human oversight remains another important part of our approach. Our accounting professionals are expected to review and validate AI-assisted outputs rather than assuming that information generated by an AI system is automatically correct.

Our developing AI governance practices also focus on responsible and ethical AI use, client confidentiality, regulatory compliance, documentation, and auditability.

Together, these practices help us explore AI's potential while maintaining the human accountability expected from an outsourced accounting partner.

What Responsible AI Use Means

For a professional services firm considering outsourcing its accounting activities, AI capability should not be evaluated solely by asking whether a provider uses the latest technology.

Instead, they should assess how the provider uses it by asking themselves these questions:

When assessing a provider, firms may want to consider:

• Are there clear controls on which AI tools employees can use?
• Are AI applications reviewed before they are adopted?
• Are employees trained to understand the limitations of generative AI?
• Is confidential information properly protected?
• Do qualified professionals remain responsible for reviewing the work?

These considerations matter because outsourcing does not remove the need for trust and accountability.

A reliable, outsourced accounting partner should be able to use technology to improve its processes while maintaining the professional oversight clients expect.

This is the balance D&V Philippines continues to pursue.

By combining accounting professionals with technology-enabled processes, we aim to help professional services firms build more efficient and scalable accounting operations without treating technology as a substitute for professional expertise.

Read Next: Embracing AI Integration, The D&V Philippines Way

Looking for a trusted outsourced accounting partner for your professional services firm?

D&V Philippines provides finance and accounting outsourcing solutions designed to help professional services firms strengthen their accounting operations and expand their team's capacity. Read our Outsourcing Due Diligence Handbook to learn how combining skilled accounting professionals with technology-enabled processes can help you build the foundation needed to scale your finance capability alongside your business.

You can also talk to our team here here at D&V Philippines to learn how our accounting professionals can support your firm today!

First published last August 16, 2023 and updated for relevance and coherence on September 21, 2026 by Aly Tagamolila