Survey Shows Accountants Who Actively Collaborate With AI Experience Less Burnout, Better Sleep, and Greater Professional Satisfaction

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 14, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FloQast, an Accounting Transformation Platform created by accountants for accountants, today announced the results of a study revealing that the true opportunity of AI lies in meaningful accountant-AI collaboration. The study, entitled "The Journey to AI Collaboration: Moving Past the First Step", is based on a survey of 515 full-time finance professionals across 12 countries that shows that simply thinking of AI as a tool misses the full opportunity that AI presents to the accounting profession.

Defining AI Collaboration: The Next Step Beyond Adoption

The study, conducted in partnership with the University of Georgia's Consumer Analytics program, defines AI collaboration as “actively working with AI in intentional ways to achieve specific tasks and product deliverables related to accounting.” This collaboration represents the critical next step after AI adoption, moving beyond merely picking up any AI tool that catches the eye to implementing AI tools thoughtfully and with purpose. AI collaboration is intentional, strategic, proactive, and managed by teams that have a clear vision for AI's role in their organization.

“The findings from this University of Georgia study confirm what we've been seeing at FloQast. Namely, that the future of accounting isn't about replacing human expertise with AI, but about creating powerful partnerships between accountants and technology to achieve shared objectives,” said Mike Whitmire, Co-founder and CEO of FloQast, CPA*. “When accountants collaborate strategically with AI, they experience myriad benefits, whether it's working more efficiently, rediscovering what they love about the profession, or achieving greater work-life balance.”

AI Collaboration Delivers Real Benefits for Accountants

The study found that roughly three-quarters of accountants and CFOs have used AI at work, but less than 10 percent of them say AI has become integral to their work. This gap highlights the difference between casual AI usage and true collaboration. Accountants who collaborate with AI to accomplish their work report significantly greater benefits compared to accountants who use AI peripherally.

To begin with, true accountant-AI collaboration appears to positively affect sleep quality, with 52% of AI collaborators feeling very well rested compared to 29% who are using AI but have not integrated it into their work. Accountants who collaborate with AI also report lower burnout and greater work-life balance, scoring 18 points higher on a 100-point scale than accountants using non-integrated AI, and 38 points higher than those who do not use AI at all.

Moreover, accountants who actively collaborated with AI to get their work done achieved the highest accountant identity scores, at 83 out of 100, suggesting that rather than diminishing the profession, AI removes barriers and frees accountants from tasks that previously made them question their career choice.

Organizations that support AI collaboration also see major advantages, including greater employee retention, improved hiring, and increased productivity. The UGA study found that accountants who collaborate with AI are more likely to stay with their current organization and report having sufficient time to do their work (56%). Furthermore, more than three-quarters of accountants who had used AI said that a hiring company's use of AI was key to their interest in a position.

Trust and Auditability Are at the Core of Effective AI Use

Critically, the UGA study found that effective accountant-AI collaborations are built on trust and an understanding of AI's role. Accountants who actively partner with AI are more likely to trust AI to complete work accurately and view AI as auditable and explainable. Auditability requires a clear sense of what AI is supposed to do and how it should go about those tasks. That knowledge, along with transparency in the work done by AI, allows the accountant to audit what their AI tool has accomplished.

A Vision Gap Still Exists

However, significant challenges remain in building strong accountant-AI teams. More than three-quarters of CFOs don't feel confident in their ability to integrate AI into their accounting function. Less than 20% can separate must-haves from nice-to-haves in AI solutions or identify available options for AI application. And only 20% feel they can define a plan to choose the right AI solution or identify the pain points that AI is uniquely suited to address.

Despite these barriers, the UGA study demonstrates that AI collaboration holds tremendous promise for transforming the accounting profession. As the accounting profession continues to evolve, this study provides clear evidence that the secret to future success lies in AI and accountants working together to achieve common goals.
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About the Study
The study, conducted in partnership with the University of Georgia's Consumer Analytics program, is based on a comprehensive survey of 515 full-time workers across 12 countries during mid-2025, examining the relationship between AI usage patterns and professional outcomes in the accounting field. Click here to read the full report.

About FloQast
FloQast, an Accounting Transformation Platform created by accountants for accountants, enables organizations to automate a variety of accounting operations. Trusted by more than 3,500 global accounting teams – including Twilio, Los Angeles Lakers, and Zoom – FloQast enhances the way accounting teams work, enabling customers to automate close management, account reconciliations, accounting operations, and compliance activities. With FloQast, teams can utilize the latest advancements in AI technology to manage aspects of the close, reduce their compliance burden, stay audit-ready, and improve accuracy, visibility, and collaboration overall. FloQast is consistently rated #1 across all user review sites. Learn more at FloQast.com.

Contact:
John Siegel
Senior Content Marketing Manager | Head of Communications
john.siegel@floqast.com