For years, the accounting and finance world has watched AI evolve from cautious curiosity to force of nature. Now, with autonomous “agentic” AI systems stepping into the mainstream, Surgent CPE wants to make sure accountants aren’t left fumbling while the tech races ahead.
The KnowFully Learning Group division has launched the Agentic AI Certificate Series, a five-course, first-to-market program designed to turn CPAs, auditors, tax practitioners, controllers, and finance leaders into AI-capable professionals—not theorists. It’s a practical, job-ready curriculum meant to demystify what agentic AI actually does, and how to use it responsibly in daily workflows.
And yes, participants get a shiny Credly badge at the end—more than just résumé decor, it’s becoming the new currency of continuous learning in regulated professions.
A Certificate for the AI Moment Accounting Is Actually Living
Unlike the usual AI-for-finance courses that linger on conceptual frameworks, Surgent aims squarely at real-world use cases. The new program focuses on autonomous agents, systems capable of breaking down tasks, executing workflows, and iterating without constant human prompting.
That’s precisely the kind of AI now landing inside tax research tools, audit platforms, ERP systems, and enterprise copilots from Microsoft and OpenAI.
“Professionals are looking for clear, accessible guidance on how to use AI responsibly and effectively,” said Elizabeth Kolar, Surgent’s EVP and managing director. The certificate gives accountants “practical examples and real-world context,” she added—something the industry desperately needs as regulatory uncertainty and vendor noise both ramp up.
What’s Inside the Five-Course Series
The full series totals 10 CPE credits and covers:
1. Agentic AI Foundations for Finance and Accounting
A breakdown of how autonomous agents differ from traditional automation and classic generative AI—essential context as agent-based tools become staples in audit analytics and tax workflows.
2. Autonomous Agents in Audit & Assurance
An exploration of agent-driven capabilities—from planning and testing to documentation—mirroring how Big Four and mid-tier firms are rapidly deploying AI assistants in their audit stacks.
3. Tax & Advisory with Agentic AI
A close look at AI-accelerated tax compliance, research, and advisory tasks. Expect examples that track with current industry tools, where natural language agents can comb through guidance or propose planning options.
4. Governing Agentic AI: Cybersecurity, Data & Risk
Because no corporate client (or regulator) wants AI chaos. This module covers risk governance, ethical frameworks, data controls, and responsible-use principles—arguably the most critical skill set for firms facing new AI-related liability concerns.
5. Build an AI Agent with ChatGPT: Hands-On Lab
A no-code lab where learners craft a task-specific agent via prompt-based workflows. It’s intentionally tool-agnostic so it applies whether a firm uses ChatGPT, Copilot, or proprietary engines.
“Agentic AI brings new opportunities for efficiency and workflow transformation,” said Jack Castonguay, Surgent’s VP of learning and development. The series, he argues, makes AI adoption “more approachable for accountants in all lines of service and firms of all sizes.”
Why This Matters in a Profession Built on Rules
The accounting field tends to adopt technology only after it proves itself—and survives compliance scrutiny. But with agentic AI already influencing audit sampling, tax research speed, and advisory modeling, waiting is no longer a strategy.
Firms are scrambling to give staff enough AI fluency to keep pace without risking errors, breaches, or ungoverned automation. Surgent’s certificate meets that urgency, packaging AI skills in a format that fits what practitioners value most: on-demand access, CPE credits, and hands-on examples they can deploy immediately.
The price point—$349 for the full series—is targeted squarely at working professionals and firms seeking rapid, scalable upskilling.
Whether this becomes the new baseline for AI literacy in the profession remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: accounting and tax work are about to look radically different. And this time, professionals don’t want to wait for a Big Four whitepaper to tell them what happened—they want to get ahead of it.
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