Navigating the Future #1: Wayne Berson, CEO of BDO USA, on AI, Talent, and the Evolving Accounting Landscape
Exploring How AI and Innovative Strategies are Shaping the Future of the Accounting Profession
In the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence, industries across the spectrum are preparing for unprecedented transformations. One such industry is accounting, a field that traditionally relies on meticulous human expertise but is now poised for significant disruption by AI technologies. To kick off our interview series on this topic, I sat down with Wayne Berson, CEO of BDO USA, to discuss his journey, the evolving landscape of accounting, and how AI is set to reshape the industry.
As the son of South African immigrants, your rise at BDO is especially fascinating. To get us started, I’d love to hear a bit about your career and how you ultimately became the CEO of BDO USA.
As you know, I was born and raised in South Africa. As a young man, I wanted to be a pilot, and I set my sights on serving in the Air Force. Unfortunately, my Air Force dream didn’t happen because my eyesight wasn’t good enough. At that point, I shifted to public accounting.
A few years later I married, and my wife and I decided to leave the country and relocate to the U.S. Personally, we couldn’t support the apartheid system we had grown up with. Professionally, I was ready to broaden my horizons – to think and act globally.
We moved to Washington, D.C., where I landed my first position with a U.S.-based firm. From there, I went to a small firm where I eventually became a partner. A few years later, in 2001, we were acquired by BDO. I was elected CEO about 10 years later and have had the honor to serve in the role since.
As you’ve pointed out in a few interviews, the accounting profession is at an inflection point from a talent, ownership, and work perspective. How has accounting evolved during your time at BDO? How do you see it progressing over the next decade?
The profession is always evolving. Change is the only constant. My job as a leader is to try and anticipate what is around the bend and prepare.
Talent is certainly one of the main factors driving change in the profession. The accounting industry has experienced a talent shortage for some time, as fewer students opt to become CPAs. We need to do a better job of attracting and retaining professionals. There is no single silver bullet, so we are exploring a multifaceted approach.
New technologies and innovations are helping us to strengthen our business and our work product, further enabling us to serve our clients. New technologies are also helping us attract and retain exceptional people. Generative AI is allowing our people to focus on the more strategic aspects of their work, automating the more routine elements. In addition, GenAI is going to open up new career pathways to help build products and solutions that support client enablement. It’s also been wonderful for workplace flexibility. We’ve long had a flexible work approach at BDO, and technology is allowing us to introduce more flexibility into the way we serve clients and work together.
In terms of the traditional accounting and advisory business model, the old partnership paradigm is beginning to shift as new models are adopted. Private equity is taking ownership stakes in accounting firms, and some firms are exploring other options. BDO chose to adopt an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP).
BDO's recent decision to transition to an ESOP structure, which gradually allows employees to become beneficial owners, is a significant move. Could you elaborate on the rationale behind this decision and its potential (hoped-for) impact?
As we watched the profession evolve, BDO’s leadership team recognized a more innovative and sustainable business model would create additional opportunity and possibility for our business. We expect to see a positive impact in several areas.
It will strengthen our already healthy culture. An ESOP mindset sets our culture apart. Beneficial ownership is shared across the organization at all levels, so we’re all in this together. This approach fosters an environment of engagement, teamwork, and a sense that every contribution truly matters.
Second, we expect the ESOP will help us attract and retain talent as people come to recognize the benefit, which is in addition to our comprehensive compensation and Total Rewards offerings. An annual allocation to the ESOP is fully funded by BDO through investments in company stock. This allocation grants employees the chance to significantly grow their wealth over time as the shares vest and grow in value with the firm’s success, with no employee contributions.
Third, an ESOP supports BDO’s growth and success, which will in turn enable us to better support our clients’ growth and success. With an ESOP, we can facilitate our continued investment in quality and operations, keeping us competitive for the long term.
What are the cornerstones you're focusing on to move BDO forward?
The heart of our business – our purpose – is helping people thrive, every day. This purpose is a mindset that powers our growth by supporting the development of our people, the success of our clients, and the betterment of our communities. We worked to establish our purpose early in my time as CEO, and it remains the cornerstone of our business today and the North Star by which we make our decisions for tomorrow.
The (ESOP) decision seems to have been largely driven by helping with talent recruitment and retention. We know that the number of CPA exam takers was at its lowest level in 17 years. What is BDO doing (other than ESOP) to ensure it acquires and retains the best talent?
We do expect the ESOP to help with recruitment and retention. People need more, however. They need a place where they feel they belong and can thrive. On a recent podcast, our Chief People Officer Cathy Moy recently said that at BDO, “We act on our values, we don't just state them. That deepens trust and deepens relationships, which are foundational for culture.” The ESOP decision was a reflection of how we are living our purpose and values and BDO.
We believe having a thriving culture is essential in attracting the right people. We were recently named one of the LinkedIn Top Companies for 2024 largely on the strength of our culture. From work flexibility to a vast array of career opportunities to a culture of inclusivity to excellent benefits to providing a direct stake in the success of our firm, we are doing all we can to cultivate a work environment where all feel they can be their authentic self and find professional success.
AI is a hot topic in the tech industry, and its potential applications in accounting are widely discussed. What are your thoughts on how AI will reshape the accounting field, and how is BDO preparing for this technological shift?
AI is a hot topic in the accounting industry as well. Firms are making significant investments in it, and our firm is, too. We believe it has the potential to transform the work environment by augmenting human capabilities and empowering people.
Like everything else we do at BDO, our core purpose is guiding our thinking. That’s why we take a people-first approach to AI for ourselves and our clients — engaging, empowering, and inspiring imaginations. We are also focused on making the possible practical. AI is a big topic, and it can sometimes be overwhelming. We are helping people and our clients navigate AI — its risks and applications, embedding it into day-to-day operations, and empowering teams to work smarter, faster, and more strategically.
There are many opportunities to revolutionize accounting in AI. What use cases within accounting do you think will be the first to adopt AI at a large scale? Is that the same as the use cases that should adopt AI at a large scale? Are there tech applications that currently excite you most?
There is a lot to your question! What I can speak to is what we’re doing at BDO, and I can say that I’m excited about it. In early spring of 2023, we collaborated with our trusted strategic partner, Microsoft, to build a safe and secure model of Chat GPT for BDO professionals. This partnership led to the creation of what we call Chat BDO. We launched a pilot program in early summer, with a full release quickly following in August. Since then, we've been regularly engaging with business leaders across the firm, discussing guidance, training, security, and most importantly, understanding the needs our professionals. Over 6,300 unique users have saved roughly 115,000 hours of time through their use of Chat BDO.
Ongoing dialogue and experimentation have spurred further research, including business line AI experiments where we seek to understand the art of the possible with short-term, deep-dive projects. Led by the National IT innovation team, the goal of BDO Experiments is to foster a dynamic and agile IT innovation team – fully aligned with our client facing practices - that embraces change, constantly experimenting with new technologies to drive efficiency, enhance experiences, and deliver exceptional results.
One of the outcomes is a “personas” concept, which are custom, targeted virtual assistant agents within Chat BDO. Personas provide professionals with a versatile platform that offers advanced, customized solutions for specific business cases, utilizing new capabilities as they become available. This effort will enhance the applicability and usefulness of Chat BDO in all areas of the business by delivering precise and contextually relevant solutions or “personas.” We are essentially democratizing the ability to create responsible, secure AI solutions among our people, which I think will have tremendous benefit for our business.
One of the big risks within AI is the privacy, security, and accuracy that comes with it. Companies, especially highly regulated ones, are often slow adopters due to these concerns. What does BDO think about this tradeoff?
It is a valid concern. That is why our core purpose and our core values form the bedrock of our approach to emerging technologies, with accountability and a people-first mindset guiding our decisions.
We evaluate risk holistically, weighing potential benefits against harms. Responsible AI use starts with governance programs that address privacy, legal and compliance considerations and integrate with a company’s mission and code of ethics to use the technology to create a sustainable, responsible and resilient future. We believe in the power of innovation, but we also believe in taking a careful approach and laying the appropriate groundwork to get it right.