Accountants and Auditors

94%
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Comments (55)

Will "Accountants and Auditors" be replaced by AI & Robots?

It's highly likely this occupation will be replaced by robots/AI. However, our poll is less clear, and shows a 65% chance of automation within the next couple of decades.

Automation Risk Level

You are doomed

or 94% probability of automation

Projected Growth

11%

by 2024

People Employed

1,280,700

as of 2019

Median Annual Wage

$71,550

or $34.40 hourly

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Most likely
Least likely

How this compares with other jobs: 598 out of 707

Cast Your Vote

How likely do you think this occupation will be taken over by robots/AI within the next 20 years?

People Employed (US)

Median Annual Wage (US)

Job description

Examine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others. Install or advise on systems of recording costs or other financial and budgetary data.

SOC Code: 13-2011

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Comments

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Brian (Highly likely) says
Most positions that simply require preparing journal entries for month end can be easily automated. It is already possible to automate most AP/AR positions. The only jobs that will remain in demand are high-level positions such as Director of Finance where a high level of analysis and decision-making is required. And automation will greatly reduce the salaries of the accounting profession.
Sep 30, 2020 at 07:33 PM
Sam (Likely) says
Business Owners are human and do not make sense. I can see AI taking hold of the industry however it will run into road blocks I am sure would set back but eventually get through
Sep 25, 2020 at 06:11 PM
Ebuka says
Much of the comments here seem very ignorant.

Are you guys for real? The Big 4 has been adopting lots and lots and lots of A.I and tech assisted audit techniques. And what has been the result?

Fraud has grown to unprecedented levels. Pls read the book "Audit & Accountancy pitfalls". Even basic teeming & lading frauds are missed by big 4 audit teams. With all their logic and A.I.

Lol. Now y'all want A.I to be the next generation auditors? Who the heck told you people financial reporting & Auditing are logical & scientific?

Fraud at times may be as easy as observing the stutter of an director when asked an uncomfortable question by the audit team.

So when A.I logic fails to the dubious genius of fraudsters who will be held responsible? The robo auditors of the institute of Chartered A.I?

Come off it people. Accountancy has been threatened with extinction as far back as the advent of adding machines and bookkeeping software.

The big with all their noise about A.I taking over are still at college campuses hustling naive students. Hmmmph.
Sep 04, 2020 at 08:22 AM
Ebuka (Small chance) says
Sure its easy to imagine A.I being able to navigate through the massive tomes of financial reporting standards (IFRS or US GAAP) or the ever changing tax codes. It may even be tempting to assume that A.I will understand the ethical requirements and reach decisions on complex Accounting treatments or design audit plans. All this "sci fi" capabilities may even be possible.

But when seismic financial malpractices lead to another stock market crash as in 2008 or another ENRON and WORLDCOM scandal, will A.I be held responsible?

You really believe A.I will give us assurance about the integrity of financial statements in future? Auditing involves much more than numerical skills. Fraud at times involves investigation beyond the books. Psychological evidence may well need to be obtained.

I think the team relegated Accountancy to bookkeeping and routine tax prep.
Sep 04, 2020 at 08:05 AM
Tyler says
Clerk-level/bookkeeper journal entries? Sure, definitely likely to be automated. But there's more to accounting than that. Advanced tax planning and advising is still a ways from being automated.
Aug 27, 2020 at 10:43 PM
Eduard (Small chance) says
People just take in consideration the "bookkeeping" part of accounting.
Jul 31, 2020 at 10:23 PM
Mohammad Zulkifli Bin Sulaiman (Highly likely) says
I think the most rote mental task such as vouching or excel sheet generations can be easily automated. Maybe simple deductions and straightforward analytics definitely will be automatized to a certain extent by AI. Higher tier analytic though can be safe in the next 20 years
Jul 22, 2020 at 03:13 AM
Phoebe (Could go either way) says
It is much easier for a robot to process large amount of data, and keep track of it rather than a human being.
Jul 19, 2020 at 02:59 PM
Lesster (Highly likely) says
You just have to record data .. we have to reinvent ourselves
Jun 20, 2020 at 03:20 PM
Yarrr says
Robots can't make sense of a $ verse a 6 on a poorly scanned paper. If it can't do that, then why would someone trust it entirely on a multi-million dollar business? It won't, therefore accountants are safe.
Jun 18, 2020 at 12:36 AM
Kai says
Is there any reason why you have to track finances on a "poorly scanned paper" instead of digitally? Multi-million dollar businesses are even more likely to be taken over than a smaller one that does.
Aug 16, 2020 at 05:04 PM
bigg ez (No chance) says
needs a personal touch.
Jun 07, 2020 at 12:14 AM
Sam says
Look at WeChat in China, where all transactions are digital. An AI can process that easily
Sep 25, 2020 at 06:13 PM
Henry Smeaton (No chance) says
Businesses will always need people with accounting and financial knowledge to interpret and analyse their financial data. Even if the process of accounting gets automated, businesses will still need trained human beings to view balance sheets and cash flow forecasts and make educated judgements as this can't be done as effectively by AI.
Jun 06, 2020 at 09:56 AM
Arpit Bhargava (Could go either way) says
audit and accounts work include lot of analysis. though this can be done by AI more effectively. but still manual work is needed to audit or supervise AI work.
Apr 01, 2020 at 07:58 PM
Ashutosh (Likely) says
Accounts is quite systematical and easier job for AI and Robots to work on in their initial phase. This job doesn't need much other than input which can also be easily done
Mar 31, 2020 at 08:02 PM
Ann (Could go either way) says
It depends on the nature of the work. If it is routine work then it can be done by AI. However the higher level thinking, analysis and interaction with clients cannot be done by AI so I would say that future accountants and auditors need to upskill
Mar 26, 2020 at 04:56 AM
joe says
Nothing can replace the human mind
Mar 20, 2020 at 11:38 PM
yousef drar (No chance) says
No way ! Accounting has a many managerial and analytical processes that the AI can not do , and if that happened the role of the accountant will be more advisory .. there many certificates in accounting such as CMA, CPLA, CIA , CFA , ect !! Is any one hold this big certificates will die ? impossible !!!
Mar 20, 2020 at 11:33 PM
Aamer (No chance) says
There is still need for human intervention in accounting and auditing
Mar 09, 2020 at 12:52 PM
Auditor (Could go either way) says
There are varying degrees of the job requirements of a CPA/accountants. Those on the consulting side of the house most likely will not be replaced by AI due to the professional scepticism and reasoning involved. There is a very high likelihood the accountants whose primary duty is to enter journal entries and accounts payable/receivable will most likely be replaced by AI.
Mar 09, 2020 at 12:35 AM
Olyannincs Gábor (Could go either way) says
You have to understand laws first then use accounting law...
Feb 26, 2020 at 08:55 PM
John Jensen (Highly likely) says
As AI will take over more of the data entry tasks performed today by accountants, they will need to learn new skills that they don't have today, such as interpreting data and giving management advise.
Feb 20, 2020 at 06:08 PM
Olympia Tsopa (Likely) says
Accounting is based in mathematics and so it's easy to be replaced by a robot
Feb 13, 2020 at 07:00 PM
CK Chiu (No chance) says
Most people misunderstand the job of an accountant to be a book-keeper. The book-keeper has long been eliminated and the accountant is a finance position involving professional judgement that is not yet programmable let alone being left to low level artificial intelligence.
Feb 11, 2020 at 07:06 AM
Mohammed Bakr (Highly likely) says
Accountant's work is heavy based on Excel which can be automated, also it contains a lot of computation; which computers can do faster than humans with less error chance.
Jan 06, 2020 at 01:37 PM
Christopher says
It is a repetitive task profession filled with human error. What we need are analysts, data scientists, and people who can read the outputs. And even those can be partially or even fully automated. Eventually a lot of menial tasks can be automated. What can't be automated is creativity. At least not yet. We have to analyze and interpret where our skills are needed. I think we should focus on learning technology rather than be afraid of losing jobs.

I took an accounting class and was bored of it. Because it's not analytical and doesn't involve understanding complex concepts. It's definitely something I want to take out of the college curriculum so we can focus on classes that enrich our understanding of the world rather than think of transactions, debits and credits and where they go.

I took 2 classes in accounting and barely passed but I aced theoretical mathematics and economics classes, so I have this bias about accounting. I think there things u remember for it will eventually burn you out because you are not using the side of your brain that involves complex thought.
Dec 17, 2019 at 05:17 AM
James Mintel (No chance) says
While many believe that accountants and auditors are soon to be obsolete, one thing reigns supreme; human interaction. Accountants have the ability to change their skill set with more insight into a companies perspective than a computer program does. Accountants will change, but not be exterminated.
Dec 07, 2019 at 02:17 AM
Sheila Stone says
For a CPA like me, job transition to relating industries or business is a hassle, but not impossible. As you said, we already have experience and social network to get us off the sinking ship.

However, saying such words is irresponsible, especially for those potential accounting students. We all know Big4 are adopting AI very fast to replace our employee. What happens if those graduate don't even have an offer after graduation? Think about that.
Jun 02, 2020 at 08:54 AM
Steve (Small chance) says
Anybody who thinks auditing and accounting will be largely automated has no idea what they actually do. Stick to what you know
Nov 15, 2019 at 05:19 AM
steve says
yeah i like Steve
Jun 15, 2020 at 04:11 AM
Daniela says
Completely agree!!
Aug 11, 2020 at 12:52 AM
Sam says
Okay it seems to me that Accounting is extremely algorithmic...it definitely could be broken down into (if, then statements) and with enough learning a machine could do it.

I guess Audits could be done with GANs? I.e. you feed it correct books versus fake books versus incompetently prepared books and it learns to recognize each (?)

P.S. I thought the Oxford study showed up the % of tasks in a job that could be automated. This seems to say it’s a 94% of chance of “computerization”. What level of computerization occurs? Few/no jobs will be 0 or 100%.

I think some prospectus research, the legal advice/business development portion, and some investigative portion of audits can’t be automated. I’d say like 70%-80% of tasks.
Nov 01, 2019 at 07:03 PM
Accounting student (Likely) says
Can't find an entry level job in this field despite a Bachelor of Commerce degree. Back in the 70s and 80s one could start an entry level job with Grade 12/13 Maths and Accounting.
Oct 31, 2019 at 10:47 PM
TaYYaB Elahi (Highly likely) says
Accounting is mostly based on something that can be scripted and automated. For most of the accounting professions may be apart from tax planners the rest can be led to automation and i wouldn't be surprised if this happens sooner than anticipated.
Oct 19, 2019 at 12:35 PM
Lujain (Highly likely) says
The tendency on relying on the AI is very clear
Oct 17, 2019 at 11:54 PM
Elizabeth varela (Highly likely) says
There goes the profession with all the technological changes that are emerging and we must prepare for the change
Oct 04, 2019 at 09:03 PM
Pedra (Highly likely) says
Because most accounts are done online now and no one would want to get an accountant to do it
Oct 02, 2019 at 01:37 PM
Kedric (Likely) says
It is meaningless, redundent, and prone to human error. Going automation makes things more accurate and efficient.
Sep 25, 2019 at 08:51 AM
q1w2e3r4t5y6 says
Did you flunk an accounting course? :P
Nov 23, 2019 at 05:29 PM
G (Highly likely) says
All they do is menial tasks and processes. While they might require some mathematical skill, this can easily be automated, even without machine learning.
Sep 07, 2019 at 06:15 PM
Mike (No chance) says
Machines will force them from number crunchers to decision makers. They will not be replaced. They will evolve!
Aug 29, 2019 at 01:11 PM
Cosme (Highly likely) says
Machines are already able to make decisions much better than humans. They will evolve but in the long term, universal basic income will have to cover.
Sep 13, 2019 at 08:23 PM
Virgil (No chance) says
Routine items will probably be automated and the job characteristics will change but there will always be a need for the profession.
Aug 22, 2019 at 03:58 PM
Auto Mation (Highly likely) says
Automation will certainly reduce the number hired in lower level positions though. Sure there will still be higher level professionals, but a large number will soon be redundant.
Jan 13, 2020 at 10:08 PM
Jfjdsjxnx (Could go either way) says
Depends on how specialized you are or are you just working with QuickBooks.
Aug 16, 2019 at 08:47 PM
jive (Small chance) says

It could be come a hard profession to get started in because the basic processes are automated but the non-entry level functions of explaining why the numbers are what they are will be hard to automate.
Aug 16, 2019 at 01:26 PM
Ardi says
Today is the orientation day on my postgraduation program . I took accounting profession program. And instead of giving great future insight, this speaker decide to reveal the sad truth of the future of accounting profession. Then i google everything and i have accepted this shitty reality 😭😆. But i personally believe that this profession will not be fully automated by AI/Robots.
Aug 12, 2019 at 04:57 AM
Paul (Highly likely) says
You can automate anything that involves checklists
Jul 26, 2019 at 09:50 AM
Roy McFarlane (Highly likely) says
Automation has already replaced many accountancy services.
Jul 16, 2019 at 09:29 PM
The Prophet (Small chance) says
AI will certainly tighten the market for accountants and auditors, but the creative aspect of financial engineering and spotting it will still be up to humans. Machines need to be trained to recognize new patterns. Accountants and auditors are here to stay, but don't expect the 80 hour weeks in your 20's to be a big driver in your success anymore.
Jul 02, 2019 at 02:01 AM
Mark (Small chance) says
Computers and formulas are not a good replacement for human input on analysing certain trends in data. Profit cents is a good example of why
Jun 06, 2019 at 05:42 PM
Ronald (Highly likely) says
1. ERPs are already automating about 50% of accounting like double entry.
2. System interfacing allows vendors to enter invoices to ERPs by them selves
3. Robotics process Automation, in automates almost anything one can do in a system
Jun 03, 2019 at 06:12 AM
Tom Harrison (Could go either way) says
Profession will adapt.
May 28, 2019 at 05:44 PM
Dan (Highly likely) says
The entire purpose of accounting is the accurate reporting of financial information. The bots can easily do this. That cuts at least about 700,000 accounting jobs.

The profession will die.
Nov 11, 2019 at 06:04 AM
LW (Small chance) says
Because a lot of that field has to do with judgement and investigation.
May 28, 2019 at 01:05 PM
Ben (No chance) says
Too many problems to have all the solutions
May 10, 2019 at 10:39 AM
alex sadlier (Highly likely) says
bye bye Mr. Accountant, hello Mr. Automatron.
P.S. Actuaries are the best woop woop
May 07, 2019 at 04:11 PM
JT Kostman, PhD (Highly likely) says
I'm widely regarded as one of the world's leading experts in Applied Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Computing - and I am presently working with one of the major accounting firms. As such, I have first-hand knowledge of the specific work being done by accountants, auditors, and tax advisors - as well as how that work can be replaced by bots.

In their recent book, The Big Four: The Curious Past and Perilous Future of the Global Accounting Monopoly, Ian Gow and Stuart Kells contend:

“The probability that some types of accounting, auditing, and tax jobs will be automated in the next decade is 100%. The repetitive work of auditing is well-suited to robots. Large swaths of audit and advisory work can be replaced by smart algorithms and cognitive artificial intelligence.”

I wholly agree - but it's important to add that by the end of the decade, the race will have already been run. The profession will largely be done-for within five years; something I've written and spoken about extensively (and as recently as today):

https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6529673667536830464
May 02, 2019 at 11:51 AM
James Madison says
Looking back onto your response to this issue, and further viewing your LinkedIn page, I strongly disagree with your opinion. While the current job that accountants do may be useless for a human to do since computer applications can do it in less time and book them into journals at a speedy pace, accountants are adapting. The people in this field are used for functions that a computer program cannot compute.

These men and women obtain plenty of management and marketing skills that make them useful. Accounting has been an ever-growing field for several decades, and many people still prefer human interaction with an accountant than automation.

While I respect your opinion, I believe that "Highly Likely" is not possible in this scenario.
Dec 07, 2019 at 02:44 AM
Olyannincs Gábor says
Then the tax law changes within a half year again, and your robot would be out of clue.
Feb 26, 2020 at 09:20 PM
Samanath (Highly likely) says
Most of accounting is using already established methods or mainly just hashing out different pathways and seeing which one is the most cost-effective. A specialized program could do this way more efficiently than any human.
Apr 26, 2019 at 07:31 PM
Aamer (Highly likely) says
The routine jobs will be taken over by AI/Robots
Apr 23, 2019 at 07:54 AM
R. Shackleford (No chance) says
A ton of the stuff accountants do can't be automated. Bookkeeping is obviously screwed, but advisors will be fine.
Apr 17, 2019 at 11:36 AM
antonino (Small chance) says
Because accounting jobs are in constant evolution and isn't only encoding invoices
Apr 05, 2019 at 04:08 PM
Michal says
In my opinion there is no chance, that financial statment audit could be done automatically. There are many procedures, where proffesional judgement is required. Many times there are cases, which need to be analysed individually. For example I can not imagine how machines will decide if amounts which are a result of court settlement are recorded properly in accordance to accounting, tax and other regulations. This rank should be closer to the lawyers where there is 4% possibility. I agree, that book-keeping will be automated, but still verification of financial statements should be done by humans. We should also remember, that there is responsibility, when financial statements are not showing the true condition of the company. So if there is a mistake or fraud who will be responsible for that? Robots?
Mar 29, 2019 at 09:10 PM
not an auditor says
Agree.
Apr 01, 2019 at 01:46 PM
not a person (Highly likely) says
agree.
Apr 30, 2019 at 09:19 PM
Skynet says
Agree
May 02, 2019 at 07:23 PM
Realist (Highly likely) says
That's exactly what they already do and will get better at doing. Input - court outcome. Output - set of data that exactly matches the input, without any labor. Bye Bye
Feb 04, 2020 at 01:39 AM
Joyce says
I think many of the responses here are confusing book-keeping with accounting. These are two different things. Application of financial reporting standards require judgement, it is not routine, needs human element.
Mar 26, 2020 at 04:59 AM

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