Accountants and Auditors

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.

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.

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.

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.

1234 (Could go either way) says

Data entry bookkeeping yes. Analysis and decision making based on understanding of businesses, laws etc unlikely

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

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

Shanelle (Highly likely) says

Programming will take it over also we have calculators

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 :')

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.

Luiz says

Blockchain has already ended up with 50% of accounting !!! In the future little manpower will be needed for some decisions!

Közgazdász says

I agree that accounting is automated, but the financial statements still need to be checked by people.

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?

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.

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.

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.

anonymous says

This is so scary, imagine all those people like myself who want to become accountants.

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.

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.

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.

Kabul (Small chance) says

Lots of nuances on the job

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!

Abubakar Shehu (Likely) says

It's already started. The Excel software is already an accountant and more.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Eduard (Small chance) says

People just take in consideration the "bookkeeping" part of accounting.

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

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.

Lesster (Highly likely) says

You just have to record data .. we have to reinvent ourselves

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.

bigg ez (No chance) says

needs a personal touch.

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.

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.

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

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

joe says

Nothing can replace the human mind

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 !!!

Aamer (No chance) says

There is still need for human intervention in accounting and auditing

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.

Olyannincs Gábor (Could go either way) says

You have to understand laws first then use accounting law...

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.

Olympia Tsopa (Likely) says

Accounting is based in mathematics and so it's easy to be replaced by a robot

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

Lujain (Highly likely) says

The tendency on relying on the AI is very clear

Elizabeth varela (Highly likely) says

There goes the profession with all the technological changes that are emerging and we must prepare for the change

Pedra (Highly likely) says

Because most accounts are done online now and no one would want to get an accountant to do it

Kedric (Likely) says

It is meaningless, redundent, and prone to human error. Going automation makes things more accurate and efficient.

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.

Mike (No chance) says

Machines will force them from number crunchers to decision makers. They will not be replaced. They will evolve!

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.

Jfjdsjxnx (Could go either way) says

Depends on how specialized you are or are you just working with QuickBooks.

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.

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.

Paul (Highly likely) says

You can automate anything that involves checklists

Roy McFarlane (Highly likely) says

Automation has already replaced many accountancy services.

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.

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

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

Tom Harrison (Could go either way) says

Profession will adapt.

LW (Small chance) says

Because a lot of that field has to do with judgement and investigation.

Ben (No chance) says

Too many problems to have all the solutions

alex sadlier (Highly likely) says

bye bye Mr. Accountant, hello Mr. Automatron.
P.S. Actuaries are the best woop woop

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

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.

Aamer (Highly likely) says

The routine jobs will be taken over by AI/Robots

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.

antonino (Small chance) says

Because accounting jobs are in constant evolution and isn't only encoding invoices

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?