Guest post by: Mandi McReynolds, Chief Sustainability Officer & Vice President, External Affairs & Customer Advocacy for Workiva
The atmosphere of 2026 has felt noticeably different. The era of “bold vision” has given way to a more grounded era of pragmatism. As we move through the first 100 days of the year, sustainability and finance executives are shifting from high-level global conversations to focused, action-driven strategies. The central question for leaders has evolved. We are no longer asking, “What is possible?” We are asking, “What is viable and can we prove it?”
This shift isn’t just anecdotal. In our daily conversations with over 6,600 customers—representing 85% of the Fortune 1,000—we see a shared reality reaching a breaking point. We are navigating a landscape where the WEF Global Risk Report warns that misinformation, exacerbated by AI, is now a top systemic threat to companies. At the same time, we still manage long-term environmental risks.
Is Your Strategy Built on Fragmented Tradition or Trusted Data?
Our 2026 Executive Benchmark Survey underscores this urgency: more than half of leaders say fragmented data is already limiting their strategic impact. What’s more, 95% of investors believe executives underestimate the systemic risk that fragmented reporting creates for financial stability and long-term valuation.
It is clear that many assume the problem is the AI itself. In reality, the real, more dangerous risk is the foundation of truth upon which it sits. When the underlying data is fragmented, even the most advanced technology will fail to produce reliable data for short and long-term decisions.
AI as a Mirror for Integrated Data
Consider a more practical perspective: AI is a mirror, not a miracle. If our sustainability, finance, and risk data foundation is fragmented, AI won’t solve our problems; it will only accelerate our flaws. Without a verified pathway, knowing exactly where your data comes from and who touched it, AI-generated “hallucinations” aren’t just technical glitches; they are enterprise liabilities that can compromise an entire strategy.
Closing The Trust Gap
The use of AI creates a unique tension for Board committees. Audit Committees and CFOs are concerned that AI-driven insights, prone to these hallucinations, are outpacing the standard set of controls required to walk into a boardroom and sign off on filings with absolute confidence.
Meanwhile, Nominating and Governance Committees are looking to CSOs to move beyond pledges and prove the ROI of sustainability. They need to see, in real time, how these decisions drive cost avoidance, financial resilience, and opportunity—backed by data traceable auditable sources.
What might surprise you is that the solution isn’t “more AI” or another “AI pilot.” To close the trust gap, leaders need connected intelligence with auditable data. When sustainability data is connected directly to finance and risk, materiality stops being a static annual exercise and becomes a real-time decision engine. We’ve seen this in action: a company identifies a localized climate risk, and because their data is connected and governed, the CFO immediately sees the impact, and the CSO can calculate the cost avoidance of a decarbonization investment. That isn’t just reporting; that’s responsible and resilient leadership in motion.
To build the truth with our data, we have to stop treating transparency as a technical hurdle and start seeing it as our greatest strategic asset.
Leadership Questions for Our First 100 Days
To help us move from commitment to measurable impact, let’s bring these questions to our next committee and leadership sessions:
For Our Board Committees: “If we stripped away the hype, can we prove the trusted truth of the non-financial data currently driving our long-term valuation?”
For Our C-Level Collogues: Are we practicing Unified Leadership, or is our fragmented data creating hurdles that allow hallucinations and misinformation to outpace our trusted joint decision?
For Our Teams: “Are we treating materiality as a static document, or are we using connected intelligence to link sustainability performance to real-time ROI and cost avoidance?”
For Ourselves: “Am I leading with a responsible and resilient mindset that empowers our teams to use technology with integrity, or am I chasing generic AI tools at the expense of truth?”
The path forward isn’t found in the latest flashy AI hype, but in the courage to align our leadership behind a focused, trusted vision of the truth. Together, we don’t just navigate the roller coaster of disruption—we ride it with the confidence that our direction is set on the right foundation.
