Press Release: From Black Box to Glass Box: Sage and PwC Commit to Tackling AI Trust Gap in Finance

Why It Matters

By embedding explainability and governance into AI, the initiative removes the biggest obstacle to finance‑focused AI adoption, accelerating digital transformation for SMBs and reducing costly validation work.

Key Takeaways

• 70% of finance leaders reject AI lacking explainability
• Finance staff spend 15.5 hours weekly validating AI outputs
• Sage's 'glass box' AI provides transparent, auditable results
• PwC contributes 86% employee AI usage and 240k Copilot licences
• Program focuses on SMBs, leveraging Sage AI Academy guidance

Pulse Analysis

The finance function has become a crucible for artificial intelligence, yet trust remains elusive. Recent IDC data commissioned by Sage reveals that seven in ten finance executives would walk away from an AI solution that cannot justify its recommendations, even when accuracy is high. This skepticism translates into a tangible "trust cost"—an average of 15.5 hours per week that finance professionals spend reconstructing, validating, and defending AI outputs. The gap between AI promise and practical reliability is reshaping investment decisions across the sector.

Sage’s "Beyond the Black Box" partnership with PwC tackles the trust deficit head‑on by introducing a "glass box" AI architecture. Unlike opaque models, this approach embeds explainability into every algorithmic decision, allowing auditors, boards, and regulators to trace the logic behind each recommendation. PwC brings deep operational expertise, with 86% of its workforce actively using AI tools, more than 240,000 Microsoft Copilot licences, and thousands of custom GPTs. Together, they will deliver practical frameworks, governance templates, and risk‑management guidelines that help finance teams move from pilot projects to scalable, compliant AI deployments.

For small‑ and mid‑size enterprises, the initiative promises a faster, safer path to AI‑enabled finance. By coupling Sage’s Responsible AI framework and AI Trust Label with PwC’s implementation know‑how, SMBs can reduce the manual validation burden, improve audit readiness, and unlock the efficiency gains that AI promises. The collaboration also reinforces the broader industry shift toward responsible AI, signaling that transparency will be a competitive differentiator as regulators tighten oversight and investors demand clearer accountability. Companies that adopt this glass‑box model early are likely to gain a strategic edge in cost control and decision‑making speed.