About this episode

Mark Hickman discusses Sage's AI strategy and the importance of accuracy in accounting.

Mark Hickman, Managing Director of North America at Sage, returns to break down what's driving Sage's fastest-growing region — from the company's AI strategy built around trust, transparency, and human control, to the upcoming Sage Future 2026 conference in San Francisco. The conversation covers what finance leaders are actually saying about AI adoption, what's coming in the keynotes and super sessions, and why Hickman argues that "70% right" might be fine for an essay but will never fly in accounting. (00:00) - Welcome to the Unofficial Sage Intacct Podcast (00:41) - Hosts Life Updates (02:32) - Welcome Back Mark Hickman (03:33) - Sage North America Scale (05:22) - Life on the Road (09:16) - Sage Future Tease (09:31) - AI You Can Trust (13:10) - Finance Leader Feedback (15:12) - AI First Competitors (17:15) - Beyond AI Initiatives (20:46) - Adoption Reality Check (22:58) - AI Adoption Takes Time (23:22) - AI Hype and Rebrands (24:00) - Dotcom Comparisons (25:40) - Future Event Recap (28:12) - Keynotes and Speakers (30:37) - Super Sessions Explained (33:33) - Enablement Beyond Conference (34:15) - Baseball Banter Break (35:24) - Surprise Announcements Tease (36:20) - Experience…

People in this episode

Hosts: Emily Madere, Matthew Lescault, Doug Lewis

Guest: Mark Hickman

Topics covered

• AI strategy
• finance leadership
• AI adoption
• Sage Future conference
• trust and transparency
• accounting standards

Keywords

• AI
• Sage Future 2026
• finance leaders
• adoption
• transparency
• accounting
• keynotes
• super sessions

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Sage, Sage North America, Sage Future 2026

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