Nearly half of professionals distrust AI in hiring, ACCA global survey finds
The News
ACCA's Global Talent Trends Survey, published on 18 September, found that 48% of 11,000 finance and accountancy professionals across 160 countries lack confidence in AI-driven recruitment. The figure rises to 54% among board-level leaders. Confidence varies sharply by generation: 55% of Gen Z respondents were comfortable with AI-enabled hiring, compared to 26% of Gen X. The top concerns were loss of human touch and feedback (29%) and AI discriminating based on CV data (29%). Meanwhile, 52% of respondents said they regularly use AI in their roles, and 31% reported their organisations are deploying AI agents in finance work.
Why It Matters
This survey captures a tension TA leaders are living with daily: AI adoption is widespread, but trust in AI hiring decisions is not — and the people least likely to trust the technology are the senior leaders who approve its purchase. The generational split is striking. The youngest candidates, who grew up with AI, are the most comfortable being screened by it; the executives signing off the budgets are the most sceptical. ACCA's Jamie Lyon framed the question neatly: is anyone truly winning in the AI-led job-hunting race right now? The answer, based on these numbers, is that candidates and employers are both using AI, both generating volume, and neither side is confident the system is working.
Taking Action
All action is situated in your corporate context. These are starting points, not prescriptions — choose what fits.
Connect
Who to talk with in your enterprise
Share these findings with your CFO and head of hiring. If 54% of board-level leaders distrust AI hiring, you need a governance story that addresses their concerns — not just a technology story. Ask your talent acquisition leadership how they would respond if a board member questioned the fairness of your AI screening process using these numbers.
Inspect
What to take a closer look at
Survey your own hiring managers on their confidence in your AI screening tools. If the gap between leadership trust and candidate comfort mirrors ACCA's findings, your AI governance communications may need as much attention as the technology itself. Check whether your candidate-facing AI tools disclose their AI nature — a requirement under EU Article 50 and increasingly an expectation elsewhere.
Reflect
What to think about more deeply
If the people who approve AI hiring tools don't trust them, and the candidates they screen are gaming the system with their own AI, what exactly is your recruitment process optimising for?