CRAFT and XBRL US Convene Industry Leaders for “AI and Structured Data Forum: Optimizing Performance” at Stevens Institute of Technology
Hoboken, N.J., May 2026 — The Center for Research toward Advancing Financial Technologies (CRAFT) at Stevens Institute of Technology, in partnership with XBRL US, hosted the AI and Structured Data Forum: Optimizing Performance on Friday, May 15, bringing together more than 50 professionals from finance, accounting, regulation, technology and academia to examine the growing intersection of artificial intelligence and structured financial data.
Held as a joint CRAFT and XBRL US conference, the event explored how AI, structured data, and evolving regulatory frameworks are transforming financial reporting, auditing, investment analysis and decentralized finance. The event was sponsored by Crowe LLP and Novaworks LLC, long-standing members of XBRL US.
“I am delighted that XBRL US and CRAFT are collaborating to advance the fintech agenda. AI without structured, reliable and explainable data will always face limitations and structured data is what provides AI with context, traceability and trust,” said Steve Yang, CRAFTs Director and Associate Professor at the Stevens School of Business.
The conference featured perspectives from regulators, Big Four and industry audit leaders, researchers, technologists and data infrastructure experts focused on one central question: How can AI in finance be made more trustworthy, transparent, and reliable?
Opening the event, CRAFT leadership highlighted the Center’s mission to advance interdisciplinary research in financial technology, including artificial intelligence, decentralized finance (DeFi), digital assets and emerging computational technologies.
The conference underscored a growing industry consensus: AI performs best when paired with high-quality, structured data.
A keynote presentation by Julie Marlowe, Assistant Director of the Office of Structured Disclosure at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), explored how structured financial information and AI complement — rather than compete with — one another. Marlowe discussed the SEC’s efforts to improve accessibility to machine-readable financial information and emphasized the importance of high-quality data standards for effective AI implementation. A second keynote from Mary Grace Davenport, former PwC partner and digital vertical lead, addressed the regulatory landscape around AI and digital assets.
Throughout the day, industry leaders examined how firms are operationalizing AI across financial reporting and assurance functions. A featured audit and assurance panel brought together leaders from PwC, Deloitte, Crowe and the AICPA to discuss the realities of AI adoption in auditing, including workforce training, quality control, documentation requirements and the evolving role of human oversight.
Panelists emphasized that while AI is creating significant efficiencies in audit workflows and financial analysis, professional skepticism and human review remain essential components of audit quality. The discussion also explored how clients are increasingly implementing AI for internal controls, anomaly detection, financial reporting and operational efficiency — with adoption occurring at different rates across industries.
The forum also highlighted the foundational role of structured data in enabling more accurate AI systems. Campbell Pryde, CEO of XBRL US, discussed how standardized financial reporting frameworks such as XBRL improve machine readability and help reduce inefficiencies in financial data processing.
“AI is only as effective as the data it relies on. Structured, standardized financial data provides the foundation needed to improve accuracy, transparency, and performance in AI-driven financial applications. Our partnership with CRAFT reflects a shared commitment to advancing innovation responsibly.” - Campbell Pryde
Additional sessions explored the evolution of XBRL as global financial infrastructure, the growing importance of semantic data modeling, and the role of the Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) in improving interoperability and regulatory coordination across financial systems.
The conference also showcased leading-edge research emerging from CRAFT and partner institutions. Researchers presented findings on how AI-enhanced models can improve Current Expected Credit Loss (CECL) estimations for banks, demonstrating meaningful gains in predictive performance. Another research initiative explored how fine-tuning large language models using structured XBRL data can significantly improve financial reasoning and numerical accuracy for accounting and reporting applications.
Experts from industry and academia — including leaders from UBS Asset Management, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation and Columbia University Secure FinAI Lab — addressed challenges related to AI trust, validation, data provenance, privacy and governance in financial systems.
The event concluded with forward-looking discussions on tokenization, digital assets and decentralized finance, examining how emerging regulatory frameworks and data standards may shape the next generation of financial markets featuring panelists from Broadridge, Auditchain and Stevens Institute of Technology.
As AI adoption accelerates across accounting, auditing, investing and financial operations, conference participants repeatedly returned to one key takeaway: The future of financial AI will depend not only on more powerful models, but on better data, stronger governance and meaningful human oversight.
About CRAFT
The Center for Research toward Advancing Financial Technologies (CRAFT), based at Stevens Institute of Technology, is an interdisciplinary research center focused on advancing innovation in financial technologies, including artificial intelligence, decentralized finance, digital assets, financial regulation, and quantum computing. Through partnerships with industry, government, and academia, CRAFT develops research and practical solutions to address emerging challenges in financial markets.
About XBRL US
XBRL US is the nonprofit consortium for extensible business reporting language (XBRL), the open standard for digital business reporting. XBRL US supports the adoption of structured data standards to improve the transparency, accessibility, and usability of business and financial information for investors, regulators, and market participants.
