Intuit's Accounting Futures: Zasada on retraining the profession for the AI advisory era

Key points

Key takeaways from the SiliconANGLE theCUBE interview at Intuit Connect 2026 with Intuit vice president of education and corporate responsibility David Zasada (October 2026):

The gap. Intuit has spent decades on free financial-literacy programmes under its Intuit for Education umbrella and spotted a widening mismatch: accounting education was not preparing students for AI-driven firms, and firms were paying to retrain new hires — the trigger for the new Accounting Futures programme.

AI fluency first. Firms say graduates must be AI-fluent — able to use tools such as QuickBooks with AI assist on real case studies — and combine that with durable skills: communication, problem-solving and judgment for client advisory work.

The advisory shift. As AI automates repetitive tax and audit tasks, entry-level accountants are moving straight into client advisory services, a growing and better-paid segment that prizes relationship skills over process work.

Fighting the stigma. Accounting enrolments are falling as students fear AI will take the jobs; Zasada counters that AI removes the drudgery and opens a new class of advisory careers, pointing to his own family: his fiancee is a CPA and CFO who says no two days are the same.

Real-world reps. The programme pairs curriculum and certifications with industry: practising accountants co-develop the case studies used in classrooms, and paid micro-internships of around ten hours let students work on real client problems with a trained professional.

Access for all. All curriculum, training and programmes are free and modular so community colleges and four-year universities can pick the pieces that fit; Intuit's framing is AI plus HI — artificial intelligence balanced with human intelligence — because clients still want a relationship with a person.

The industry loop. Accounting Futures was built with educators and practitioners together, bringing accountants into classrooms and educators into firms, so both sides agree on what graduates need to hit the ground running in an AI-enabled profession.

Read more: SiliconANGLE theCUBE