Tom Hood is one of the most influential leaders in accounting. The Executive Vice President, Business Growth and Engagement, at American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA has been named the Second Most Influential Person in Accounting since 2011 by Accounting Today Magazine (only pipped to the post by AICPA CEO Barry Melancon). In giving him their award the publication cited his “legendary energy, imagination and ability to foresee the future, and focusing them specifically on management accountants, helping them reimagine “the Future of Finance.” On Linkedin  Tom has 780,000 followers and the platform recruited the accounting leader as one of their Top Voices. His passion for technological innovation in accounting has been evident since the early days of VisiCalc to Excel and ChatGPT. This combines with his rigorous enforcement against bad actors in the profession, and optimism about the future.  In this episode Tom Hood describes one of the biggest shifts in accounting as “The Great Join between accounting and FP&A”. Hood says: “We need accounting to make sure the numbers are right and to maintain our stewardship and trust. But we also need the financial viewpoint, which we saw big time in the pandemic. This is needed to reimagine what’s next in the profession.” Hood also reveals his passion reflecting accounting’s role as one of the most fundamental tenets of business- and wider society“Accounting is a language of business. It is a language that many people‒dare I say most people‒don’t truly understand. You become the value interpreter of everything about a business.” In this episode discover:  Tom’s career trajectory from to CFO at  to Maryland Association of CPAs to EVP  at the (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)  The merger between the AICPA and CIMA (UK-based) and the global power base this provides the accounting profession The Great Join between FP&A and Accounting  His  passion for accounting tech as continuing to revolutionize business – from the dawn of VisiCalc to ChatGPT today  His role in stamping out unethical accounting practices  The changing up the CPA Exam and what it means for you How AI has already changed the game for accountants and how companies are transforming accounting   How he got into accounting as a way of getting into the FBI and why that didn’t work out  YouTube video of the episode Follow Paul Barnhurst on LinkedIn  Follow Datarails on LinkedIn