July 2, 2026
By Vanguard Enterprise Intelligence Unit with the work of Bob Moritz, Robert S. Kaplan, Baruch Lev, Robert G. Eccles, and Tom Davenport.

An Interview Feature With Former PwC Global Chairman Bob Moritz on Transparency, Trust, and Strategic Value in 2026

Accounting has long been viewed as a technical discipline—defined by financial statements, audits, compliance, and regulatory reporting. But in today’s fragmented global economy, that definition no longer captures its full significance. Accounting has evolved into a strategic trust system, shaping how capital providers assess risk, how boards oversee performance, how regulators evaluate accountability, and how stakeholders determine whether an organization can be relied upon.

The pressures on the profession are intensifying. Companies now operate across jurisdictions with diverging regulations, uneven disclosure requirements, complex tax regimes, and evolving sustainability standards. At the same time, artificial intelligence is transforming audit processes, talent models, and expectations for speed and insight. The mandate facing accounting leaders is increasingly complex: enhance transparency while managing fragmentation, strengthen assurance while adopting new technologies, and preserve trust in an environment defined by uncertainty.

Bob Moritz, former Global Chairman of PwC, has spent more than four decades at the center of these shifts. His experience across audit, assurance, financial services, and capital markets offers a lens into how accounting is transitioning from a compliance function into a strategic capability. In this Vanguard interview feature, Moritz reflects on the evolving role of accounting and what it means for leaders navigating 2026.

Accounting as the Infrastructure of Trust

Moritz describes accounting as the foundation upon which trust is built in modern markets. While accuracy and compliance remain essential, the expectations placed on financial information have expanded. Stakeholders are no longer satisfied with knowing that numbers are correct—they want confidence that those numbers provide meaningful insight into performance, risk, and future value.

In stable environments, weaknesses in reporting may go unnoticed. In periods of volatility, they become immediately visible. When financial information is unclear, inconsistent, or delayed, the cost of trust rises. Investors demand higher returns, boards face greater scrutiny, and management decisions become more difficult to defend.

Accounting, in this context, becomes more than a record of past performance. It becomes part of the operating system for decision-making—providing credibility to companies, visibility to boards, and confidence to capital markets.

Navigating a Fragmented Reporting Environment

The current environment differs from previous periods of complexity in both speed and scope. Companies are confronting a growing divergence in regulatory frameworks, disclosure expectations, and stakeholder demands across jurisdictions.

A multinational organization may face varying tax rules, sustainability reporting standards, data governance requirements, and geopolitical risks in each market it operates. This fragmentation creates not only a reporting challenge but also a governance challenge.

Moritz emphasizes that accounting leaders must now connect technical reporting with broader business strategy. Understanding financial outcomes is no longer sufficient; finance teams must also interpret how external conditions influence performance, risk, and long-term value creation.

From Compliance to Strategic Value

While compliance remains foundational, Moritz argues that limiting accounting to a compliance function overlooks its broader potential. High-quality accounting enables better capital allocation, sharper identification of risk, and clearer insight into where value is being created or eroded.

The most effective finance organizations translate reliable data into actionable insight. They help leadership understand not just whether the numbers are accurate, but what those numbers mean for the business. This requires accounting leaders to operate closer to strategic decision-making while maintaining independence and rigor.

The Expanding Role of Audit

As the definition of business information expands, so too does the role of audit. Stakeholders increasingly seek assurance not only on financial statements but also on sustainability disclosures, risk metrics, cybersecurity controls, and other nonfinancial indicators of enterprise value.

Moritz notes that while the scope of assurance is broadening, discipline remains critical. Assurance only retains its value when standards, evidence, and independence are clearly defined. Technology will play a growing role in audit—enhancing data analysis, improving coverage, and increasing efficiency—but it cannot replace professional judgment or ethical responsibility.

ESG Assurance and the Credibility Gap

Sustainability reporting has become both more important and more contested. Inconsistent methodologies and varying levels of rigor have created a credibility gap, making it difficult for stakeholders to compare and rely on ESG information.

Accounting leaders have an opportunity to bring structure and discipline to this space. The focus, Moritz suggests, should be on ensuring that material sustainability information is reliable, comparable, and decision-useful. This requires clear ownership of data, robust controls, and the ability to subject disclosures to assurance.

As ESG information increasingly influences capital allocation and risk assessment, the need for credible, auditable data becomes more urgent.

AI and the Transformation of the Profession

Artificial intelligence is reshaping accounting and audit, offering significant gains in efficiency and analytical capability. AI can process large datasets, identify anomalies, automate routine tasks, and enhance forecasting and reporting.

However, Moritz cautions that the value of AI lies not in automation alone, but in its ability to improve judgment and insight. Without proper governance, AI introduces risks related to data integrity, bias, and security. Organizations must establish controls around models, data usage, and human oversight to ensure that technology enhances rather than undermines trust.

Talent and the Future of the Profession

The accounting profession faces a growing challenge in attracting and retaining talent. Moritz believes this is partly a perception issue. Accounting is often viewed narrowly as compliance work, rather than as a dynamic field at the intersection of business, technology, and governance.

To address this, firms and organizations must modernize how they present the profession. Today’s accountants require not only technical expertise but also data literacy, technological fluency, business acumen, and strong communication skills. By emphasizing the strategic impact of accounting, the profession can better align with the expectations of younger professionals seeking meaningful and impactful careers.

Leadership, Ethics, and Culture

Trust ultimately depends on leadership and culture. Accounting professionals frequently operate under pressure—to accelerate reporting, interpret standards aggressively, or present results in the most favorable light. Maintaining integrity in these situations requires both individual courage and organizational support.

Moritz underscores that ethics are inseparable from performance. Organizations must foster environments where quality is prioritized, concerns can be raised without fear, and professional judgment is respected. Boards play a critical role in reinforcing this culture by engaging deeply with the assumptions and risks underlying financial reporting.

Managing Cross-Border Complexity

As global rules become less harmonized, companies must adopt more integrated approaches to compliance. Managing regulatory requirements on a country-by-country basis is no longer sufficient.

Effective governance requires a comprehensive view of where risks are concentrated, how regulations are evolving, and where controls may be weakest. This demands collaboration across finance, tax, legal, risk, and technology functions. The finance organization, with its visibility into performance and capital flows, is uniquely positioned to coordinate this effort.

Balancing Speed and Reliability

Stakeholders increasingly expect faster access to information, but speed without reliability introduces new risks. Real-time reporting is valuable only when supported by strong data architecture and robust controls.

Moritz emphasizes the importance of “trusted speed”—delivering timely information without compromising accuracy or insight. While dashboards and analytics tools can accelerate reporting, they must be paired with disciplined processes that ensure data integrity and comparability.

The Role of CFOs and Boards

For CFOs, the challenge is to position accounting as a strategic capability. This involves investing in systems, talent, and governance structures that support high-quality reporting and decision-making. Finance teams should be integrated into strategic discussions early, rather than brought in after decisions have been made.

Boards, meanwhile, must look beyond the outputs of financial reporting to assess the strength of the underlying information environment. This includes evaluating controls, oversight of emerging risks, governance of technology, and alignment of incentives with long-term value creation.

A Framework for Elevating Accounting

Organizations can assess the effectiveness of their accounting function across five key dimensions:

• Reporting integrity: Are disclosures accurate, timely, and decision-useful?

• Assurance readiness: Can information be verified and supported with evidence?

• Technology governance: Are systems and AI tools properly controlled and monitored?

• Talent strength: Does the organization have the skills required for modern accounting?

• Strategic integration: Is accounting connected to capital allocation, risk management, and performance evaluation?

Companies that excel in these areas are better positioned to use accounting as a source of competitive advantage.

The Future of the Profession

Looking ahead, Moritz sees accounting playing an even more central role in enabling trust. As markets become more complex and fragmented, the demand for reliable information will only increase.

Accounting is no longer just about recording what has happened. It is about providing the foundation for what comes next—supporting decisions, guiding strategy, and reinforcing confidence across stakeholders.

Accounting as Strategic Advantage

The role of accounting is being redefined by volatility, fragmentation, and technological change. It can no longer be viewed as a narrow compliance function. Instead, it serves as a strategic system for trust, governance, and value creation.

Organizations that invest in high-quality accounting—through stronger controls, better technology, and more capable talent—will be better equipped to navigate uncertainty and earn stakeholder confidence. In a world where trust is increasingly scarce, accounting is not a back-office function. It is a critical driver of enterprise value.