From AI denial to AI pressure: The changing reality for CIOs

One of the advantages of attending industry conferences is the ability to reflect on what was said once the dust has settled, putting into perspective some of those valuable ideas shared behind the scenes. 

That was very much the case when I caught up with Vis-à-Vis organisers David Fazakerley and Stuart Walters following this year’s gathering of senior technology and business leaders from the legal and accountancy sectors. The annual event, held at Hanbury Manor, brought together a mix of CIOs, COOs, innovation leaders and technology executives. What was most striking was how much the sentiment among tech leaders has changed in a short space of time. 

Even in October 2025, when Vis-a-Vis was last hosted, attendees were in a state of semi-denial when it comes to AI. Fazakerley observes: “We were all fed up and hoping AI would go away. I was surprised last year how much of that sentiment there was around. Six months later, and that sentiment wasn’t in the room. There was an acknowledgement that this is here to stay, accelerating, and that we have to lean in.” 

That realisation is driving different stresses. Walters said: “There’s a lot of stress and fatigue. A lot of sharing around ‘this is really hard.’” Board members are piling on pressure to use AI, but it’s down to CIOs to do that safely and cost effectively.  

The role of CIOs is changing and the industry needs to get comfortable with that, but it’s worth discussing the conflict between ideas and accountability. Fazakerley says: “It’s all well and good having an idea, but who is accountable when it goes wrong?” 

There is still an industry problem around innovation and IT heads not working closely enough (or at all) together, and a key focus for progress needs to be a clear map of responsibility and accountability – it’s all well and good to say failure is fine, but where does the buck stop?

Accountancy v Legal 

There was more focus at Vis-a-Vis this year on the technological differences – perhaps the pros and cons – between the legal and accountancy market. Both Fazakerley and Walters were law firm IT heads who have shifted to accounting firms.  

Interestingly, one of the pros of accounting firms is that business cases are better understood, Walters says. “If I put a number in front of my CFO, he understands that it’s not about ego and who shouts the loudest. Law firms need to come more on board with that.” 

Legal is served better by the software market, Fazakerley says, but the scale of the accounting market means the AI and agentic world may well level things out. The top 200 law firms by seats fit within the top 20 accounting firms.  

Microsoft is very engaged with accountancy firms and speaking at the conference, a representative referred to research that shows that 56% of people use AI for work purposes on personal devices and 46% said they would continue to do so if it was against company policy. “I’ve referred to that several times,” says Walters. 

Overall the feedback from the Chatham House event is that time together is not just about the content. The value lies in the therapeutic exchanges of ideas.

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