Course Description:

The course delivers a practical, audit-grade framework that helps CPAs detect AI-washing, evaluate AI claims with professional skepticism, and document defensible conclusions that safeguard trust. AI-washing occurs when organizations exaggerate what AI can do, overstate its real-world impact, or obscure how it actually works—creating capability, impact, and process claims that can become regulatory, reputational, and assurance risk. Delivered through the cinematic 2037 narrative framework of the AI Accounting Future Forum (AIAFF) and its “Four Houses” (Mastermind, Vanguard, Forge, Rogue Council), the course translates story into practice using the VDD method (Verify–Disclose–Document)—a repeatable compliance reflex for AI-assisted emails, summaries, dashboards, ESG reporting, automated audits, and tax research. Participants leave with disclosure-first language, evidence-chain discipline, and defensible habits that preserve judgment—before “cognitive atrophy” quietly erodes professional skepticism.

Topics Covered:

• AI-washing: false capability, misleading impact, deceptive process
   

• Rule 10b-5 as a “truth test” for AI claims
   

• VDD (Verify–Disclose–Document) as a daily compliance reflex
   

• Claim classification, proof thresholds, and evidence quality
   

• Building audit-ready evidence chains and documentation
   

• AI-assisted communications: emails, summaries, onboarding packets
   

• Dashboards and automated evidence: provenance, traceability, controls
   

• Rogue Council risks: materiality drift, bias distortion, independence capture
   

• Disclosure-first language for assumptions, limits, uncertainty

• Cognitive atrophy: overreliance risk and judgment preservation
   

Learning Objectives:

• Define AI-washing and distinguish capability, impact, and process deception
   

• Apply VDD controls to AI-assisted communications and records
   

• Evaluate AI impact claims using baselines, scope, and evidence quality
   

• Identify process deception risks (hidden humans, masked datasets, “ghost audits”)
   

• Draft disclosure-first language for assumptions, uncertainty, and boundaries
   

• Construct an audit-ready evidence chain that is regulator-defensible

• Detect cognitive atrophy patterns and strengthen professional skepticism

Who Will Benefit/Target Audience:

 CPAs, auditors, finance leaders, controllers, and advisory professionals responsible for the credibility of AI-influenced outputs and client-facing narratives.

Prerequisite Knowledge:

 Basic familiarity with assurance concepts, professional skepticism, and common AI use in accounting workflows is recommended.