Accountants and Auditors

AUTOMATION RISK
CALCULATED
71%
risk level
POLLING
64%
Based on 5,375 votes
LABOR DEMAND
GROWTH
5.6%
by 2031
WAGES
$78,000
or $37.50 hourly
VOLUME
1,402,420
as of 2022
SUMMARY
JOB SCORE
4.9/10

Automation risk

71% (High Risk)

High Risk (61-80%): Jobs in this category face a significant threat from automation, as many of their tasks can be easily automated using current or near-future technologies.

More information on what this score is, and how it is calculated is available here.

Some quite important qualities of the job are difficult to automate:

  • Persuasion

  • Social Perceptiveness

  • Negotiation

  • Originality

User poll

64% chance of full automation within the next two decades

Our visitors have voted that it's quite likely this occupation will be replaced. This assessment is further supported by the calculated automation risk level, which estimates 71% chance of automation.

What do you think the risk of automation is?

What is the likelihood that this occupation will be replaced by robots or AI in the next 20 years?






Growth

Moderate growth relative to other professions

The number of 'Accountants and Auditors' job openings is expected to rise 5.6% by 2031

Total employment, and estimated job openings

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for the period between 2021 and 2031.
Updated projections are due Sep 2023.

Wages

High paid relative to other professions

In 2022, the median annual wage for 'Accountants and Auditors' was $78,000, or $37.50 per hour

'Accountants and Auditors' were paid 68.4% higher than the national median wage, which stood at $46,310

Wages over time

* Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Volume

Significantly greater range of job opportunities compared to other professions

As of 2022 there were 1,402,420 people employed as Accountants and Auditors within the United States.

This represents around 0.95% of the employed workforce across the country.

Put another way, around 1 in 105 people are employed as Accountants and Auditors.

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: 13-2011.00

Resources

Can ChatGPT pass an accounting interview?

Here's a video from Certified Accountant Kostadin Ristovski on Chat GPT and accounting, where he asks it questions which an accountant should know the answer to, he's not impressed!

If you're thinking of starting a new career, or looking to change jobs, we've created a handy job search tool which might just help you land that perfect new role.

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Comments

Leave a comment

Lou (Highly likely) says
It’s simple data-driven work. Easily automated. It’s also a high-wage job so the incentive to automate is high.
Mar 05, 2022 at 07:01 PM
Mohammed (Small chance) says
Some transactions need to be entered by humans
Feb 11, 2022 at 01:39 PM
An (No chance) says
While basic accounting can be replaced, still specialists within this field will be in demand.
Feb 07, 2022 at 07:09 PM
Future says
I'm from the future. Accountants are still boring in the metaverse.
Nov 08, 2021 at 12:37 PM
Veerakumar (No chance) says
Since this field requires more human knowledge and human's own involvement in problem-solving which a machine cannot achieve in the upcoming 20 years and if so achieved there will not be perfection in that. So I confidently say that humans cannot be replaced for this job at least for the next 20yrs in line.
Oct 14, 2021 at 01:53 PM
A smart cookie (Highly likely) says
Upon learning about blockchain 5 years ago I dropped out of my accounting program ASAP to learn programming and smart contract development. The truth is - this is going away. Jackson Hewitt learned to code to build his software. Turbo Tax and any program - Intuit / QuickBooks takes all the information. Anyone can enter their own data into a computer. The blockchain which is triple entry accounting and the worldwide decentralized network secures its data with military level + encryption and the books are settled every 10 minutes! Anyone who does not heed this message is in for a rude wake-up call. About laws - that's where smart contracts come in. Programming logic of the law - even now in DAOs as an LLC. Lawyers need to become programmers to stay at the top of the food chain. We're in for a whole paradigm shift. I'm glad I dropped out the second I learned about Bitcoin.
Oct 02, 2021 at 07:14 PM
Guts (Could go either way) says
Depends on your expertise as an accountant, depends on your role, depends whether you're liked in your team, depends whether your industry is complex (like insurance), depends on your qualifications and depends on your willingness to learn and reinvent yourself.
Not a black-and-white issue.
Imho accountants will just become business analysts or advisors.
Sep 04, 2021 at 10:38 AM
Reynold (No chance) says
The true meaning of being a great accountant is finding the grey areas & loopholes within tax codes to manipulate in favor of your client. Unless we get into a stage of life where AIs have the same level of consciousness as us humans when identifying what’s ethical or not within these grey areas.

Y’all need to chill cause accounting is here forever.

If an AI can do your job, you simply just suck as an accountant.
Aug 07, 2021 at 09:44 AM
Jake Johnson (Likely) says
Accounting is one of those professions where there are way more jobs than people who like doing it. And it's perfect for computers. And programs have been replacing people for years. I like it, but it's going away.
Jul 16, 2021 at 08:41 PM
Esteban (No chance) says
Because in my country only accountants can sign a balance sheet, that by law, you need a university degree to do so.
Jul 13, 2021 at 11:59 AM
1234 (Could go either way) says
Data entry bookkeeping yes. Analysis and decision making based on understanding of businesses, laws etc unlikely
Jul 03, 2021 at 12:59 AM
tiyad (Small chance) says
you still need someone to understand for the occasion of new types of transactions and to understand what the computer did
Jun 12, 2021 at 03:55 PM
John Pollock (Highly likely) says
Accounting is a repetitive task of putting numbers in boxes and generally, the profession does it wrong. AI will do it faster and more accurate
May 06, 2021 at 01:12 PM
Shanelle (Highly likely) says
Programming will take it over also we have calculators
Apr 15, 2021 at 02:30 PM
justanotherhighschooler says
This is useful for a high schooler who hasn't even (really) decided on a career path yet-- good to see the job I'd like to have won't be taken over by The Bots in my lifetime :')
Apr 14, 2021 at 12:23 AM
mike (Small chance) says
Junior roles such as accounts payable, accounts receivable could be automated for sure. But as someone who has been on the profession for +15 years and have been involved in automation / RPA processes myself, I know there's a huge scope of our work that can't be automated in the foreseeable future. Lots of decision making, there's a lot that it's open to individual criteria. TBH, I don't see this profession being more likely to disappear compared to engineers, lawyers, programmers, etc.
Mar 26, 2021 at 07:16 PM
Luiz says
Blockchain has already ended up with 50% of accounting !!! In the future little manpower will be needed for some decisions!
Mar 22, 2021 at 01:06 PM
Közgazdász says
I agree that accounting is automated, but the financial statements still need to be checked by people.
Feb 26, 2021 at 03:34 PM
Rajesh says
What is the salary for cleaning a Robot with a piece of cloth in future.

Anyone plz reply, because I will decide to go for SAP FI CO coaching or not?
Feb 23, 2021 at 02:37 PM
Jezza (Yes routine recording) says
The number of people employed will reduce and those left will have higher skill.

You may be able to automate a supplier voucher to a known cost description and automate its processing but as soon as you change suppliers or a supplier provides multiple products or services, a human will need to recode.

R&D, mining, construction etc. all require significant judgement to reflect the financial reporting position which cannot be automated.
Feb 23, 2021 at 03:30 AM
Bob (Highly likely) says
Software is already capable of doing the basics. It's really a data entry job. Data entry jobs are at risk.
Feb 14, 2021 at 08:50 AM
leo says
AI will most likely be used as a tool by auditors. Meaning human aspect of the job won't disappear but you would have this tool that makes you highly efficient. This results in way less people being needed. So yes, the job is threatened.
Feb 08, 2021 at 03:28 AM
anonymous says
This is so scary, imagine all those people like myself who want to become accountants.
Feb 04, 2021 at 11:39 AM
Zachary T. (Small chance) says
Bookkeepers and entry level Accounting and Auditing jobs will become auditing eventually, but the more advanced the job, the less likely that job will be automated.
Jan 18, 2021 at 07:47 PM
RobotMan says
A friend of mine works at a company that is trying to accomplish this. She said 1 year, 10 years, 50 years? Not sure if/when they will succeed, but they are investing a lot of time and money into this project and accounting is one of the first ones on the hit list. Let's hope not.
Dec 10, 2020 at 08:20 AM
Mark says
Over the last 5 years, we already laid off most of our accountants. Turns out, with the improved software we've been getting, we only need a few senior accountants to monitor most of our finances instead of having entire teams performing less-than-optimal analysis. Tough luck. Not only do they have shit jobs (I WAS an accountant, myself) but they may not have a future in the practice.

I'm not saying private accountants will be replaced entirely but there's simply no need to hire tons of them when a few can do the job just as well. Can't say the same about public though. They may still provide some use.
Dec 09, 2020 at 05:34 AM
Kabul (Small chance) says
Lots of nuances on the job
Dec 05, 2020 at 09:33 AM
Jap says
All accounting outside of management accounting (where the judgement is made) will become automated. Management Accounting is closer to finance than it is accounting; therefore accounting is dead!
Dec 05, 2020 at 12:31 AM
Abubakar Shehu (Likely) says
It's already started. The Excel software is already an accountant and more.
Nov 27, 2020 at 01:47 AM
WhosaidDRmeansdebit says
Been an accountant for 40 years. Accounting and auditing is systematic and increasingly rule based. Once judgement is eliminated there is no need for human interaction. For now, there is a need for managers to oversee the AI, and some to evaluate the conclusions, but you don’t need the myriad of people involved in the number crunching. As AI gets smarter the oversight function can also be replaced. In time less regulators are needed since the system would be on auto-pilot. The constraint is the older accountants (over 45) are were raised on the old system. They will all have to exit the field for AI to be fully embraced.
Nov 11, 2020 at 05:34 PM
Former Senior Financial Analyst (Highly likely) says
Journal entries can be automated. Accountant/Financial Analyst level positions will not be safe as the bulk of the work is doing journal entries to prepare financial statements. Most of the tasks are routine and repetitive - month end, quarter end and year-end. Even if not everything for Accountants is not automated, it will definitely decrease their salary, as they will have fewer responsibilities. Only Senior Managers/ Director of Finance level positions will be safe as they require a high level of judgement and analysis.
Nov 04, 2020 at 02:29 PM
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
Javed says
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?
Jul 24, 2021 at 05:39 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
Jian says
Answer from a Big 4 staff:

1. Big 4 is in the auditing, tax and consultancy business. As a staff, I notice that Big 4 automation consists of designing "beautiful & modern-looking" dashboards, applications and software to simplify their "data presentation" for paying clients and staffs. E.g. client can login to Big 4 Software to "live-view" how many of their expatriate staffs income tax return have been filed in the form of graphs and charts.

2. That said, Big 4 certainly did not focus on creating a software to self-destruct (i.e. automate away their huge billing hours of auditing or tax compliance manpower) their own billion dollars international business model.

3. In fact, all the major accounting software that are automating away manpower - none are created by Big 4. Instead these automation software are created by SAP, Xero, Quickbooks, etc.

4. It would be crazy to think that Big 4 would want to automate themselves out of their giant manpower billing hours, considering how tough it is to move into a new industry or business model that can generate that same massive amount of revenue. E.g. Google themselves have failed to break into the mobile phone industry despite being a tech giant. Big 4 accounting firm partners and CEOs are made up of 90% accounting grads, same as all their audit & tax staffs - which technology company do you think Big 4 can immediately transition into?

5. If I were the Big 4 accounting partners (i.e. age 40 or so whom had slowly climbed up the corporate ladder of minimum 8 bottom levels/positions), I would spend the next 25 years sucking up whatever bonuses and salaries I can - instead of killing my own business model - it is a good bet.

6. Software companies like SAP will have to generate year-to-year revenue and cut out some portion of their net profit into R&D to automate away the accounting processes over time - hence the slow automation process. I stand correct of course.
Oct 19, 2021 at 09:47 AM
Awie Foong says
Great point. Automation works well for rule-based tasks. Tasks should not be forced into a set of rules just to be automated.

Auditing can benefit from automation of repetitive tasks that are done the same way no matter who is doing them or where or when they are carried out. However, a good auditor is like a detective who can spot anomalies or detect fraud and conduct investigations to delve deeper into the situation.

Putting fraud detection solely into the hands of algorithms or AI is irresponsible on the part of the auditor. Instead, automate the portions of work that can save resources so that auditors have the bandwidth to conduct proper audits and investigations.

The sad thing is that savings from automation are usually not reinvested back into the function, but rather go directly to the bottom line.
Feb 12, 2022 at 06:07 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
Artur Grzenkowicz says
Financial analysts are different people, they have a very low %chance of being automated out of the workforce.
Oct 12, 2020 at 03:10 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
JOJO says
all comments here like yours are like watching a history book before all collapsed
Dec 23, 2020 at 09:07 AM
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
Mark says
Finally found a guy who I agree with. I hate accounting with a passion. I'm so glad I left that job for a job that challenges me and gives me better compensation. It's an unfulfilling job with no creativity, imagination, or enjoyment. I'll be so happy once it's gone. No one should have to go through it again. I already lost a friend who had to. F*ck.
Dec 09, 2020 at 05:43 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
Mark says
I know what I know. Fortunately, I left that garbage profession for over double my starting public accounting salary (plus much greater satisfaction). I can't wait for that terrible existence to be automated. There's no creativity; there's no upper level mathematical analysis; there's no enjoyment. Good luck.
Dec 09, 2020 at 05:38 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
C K (Highly likely) says
Judgement and investigative sense/ability are merely very complex algorithms. The computers can't do those - for now.

The only thing preventing comps from achieving it is the insane amounts of computing power needed required for the current state of AI to progress to the subsequent stages.

With the rise of quantum computing and meta-learning, that won't be for very long.
Oct 31, 2021 at 01:01 AM
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
C K says
If they are relegated to management and marketing, wouldn't they not be accountants anymore but a different job role?
Oct 31, 2021 at 01:06 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
K (Highly likely) says
It won't as it will be updated the moment the law changes. As well the learning/adapting process will be done in split seconds.
Nov 19, 2020 at 07:51 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
Jap says
All accounting besides management accounting can be automated. Management Accounting (where the judgement is made) is closer to finance than accounting. College graduates will have a hard time getting into the accounting field since management accounting positions will require 5-10 years of accounting experience. They won’t be able to get experience if all accounting outside of management is automated.
Dec 05, 2020 at 12:28 AM

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