8 answers
Genevieve
Student
Cedar Rapids
78
Questions
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Will accounting become automated?
Some articles that I've read claim that accounting will become automated in 20 years. I've also read that automation will merely decrease the need for accountants and/or make their workload easier. I don't want to enter a career in an obsolete profession.
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8 answers
Thomas Holt
34
Answers
Updated
Thomas’s Answer
Many experts believe that accounting will become increasingly automated in the future. Technology is already revolutionizing the accounting profession, making routine tasks easier and freeing up accountants to focus on more strategic tasks. Even complex financial analysis can now be performed quickly and easily with the help of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning tools. In addition, blockchain technology is beginning to change the way businesses keep track of transactions, making accounting more efficient and secure.
It’s not just routine tasks that are being automated – new accounting software is also capable of performing more complex analyses. For example, predictive analytics can be used to forecast cash flow and identify potential areas of financial risk. I work in AI, and I think there will still be a lot of accountants but their job will look very different than it does today.
It’s not just routine tasks that are being automated – new accounting software is also capable of performing more complex analyses. For example, predictive analytics can be used to forecast cash flow and identify potential areas of financial risk. I work in AI, and I think there will still be a lot of accountants but their job will look very different than it does today.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts!
Genevieve
Tyler White
Medical Device Sales Associate
20
Answers
Grand Junction, Colorado
Updated
Tyler’s Answer
Another great question. While many components will be automated as technology will continue to change every industry, there's always going to be a need for accountants. There's of course many different types of accountants - a accountant focused on tax law will always be needed as someone will need to be the interpreter between tax law and clients (what is and what isn't lawful). Many fields employ accountants who do more of the analysis and less of "crunching the numbers". This type of accountant will always be needed as well.
Whew, that's a relief! Thanks again! :-)
Genevieve
Lanting He
Software Engineer
8
Answers
New York, New York
Updated
Lanting’s Answer
Hi!
It depends, it depends on what you try to do with accounting, are you trying to balance the sheet, like create some entries, or you are on a more creative side where you want to decide whether to treat something as income receivable/inventory/research& development for tax/reporting purpose. If the former, yes, I have personally work on two projects in the past to automate the accounting process and we are able to have the machine did what an accounting will spend days doing in 3 minutes. The later part is much more tricky and is the real essence of accounting, so I would say part of accounting will be replaced in short time, while the more advanced part of it is less likely
It depends, it depends on what you try to do with accounting, are you trying to balance the sheet, like create some entries, or you are on a more creative side where you want to decide whether to treat something as income receivable/inventory/research& development for tax/reporting purpose. If the former, yes, I have personally work on two projects in the past to automate the accounting process and we are able to have the machine did what an accounting will spend days doing in 3 minutes. The later part is much more tricky and is the real essence of accounting, so I would say part of accounting will be replaced in short time, while the more advanced part of it is less likely
Thank you Lanting!
Genevieve
Ayush Rungta
Product Manager
5
Answers
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Updated
Ayush’s Answer
Hi,
I think this a great question. If I am to believe that your fears are right and you are entering a field which will become obsolete in 20 years then I would rush into this field. Simply because 20 years is a long enough period for me to become a subject matter expert in accounting and command whatever money I want to oversee or consult companies on accounting automation. I wish someone had told me 20 years back the technology that will be prevalent today and I would have worked the last 20 years to become an expert in it. So don't fear automation, embrace it. You have a long journey ahead of you and a golden opportunity to lead the automation revolution of accounting. Become familiar with processes which are mundane and repetitive (which can be automated easily) and then try to automate them on your own. All these experiences will add up over time and you will be in demand everywhere when automation catches up. This revolution will need far more smart accountants than smart engineers and you can be one of them.
My personal belief is that accounting has a lot of areas where subjectivity is involved and those processes are really complex for any sort of AI to perform. Also, automation may work for smaller or newer companies who will buy the new systems and implement from the beginning but for older companies or the ones having operations across the globe, automation will take a lot of effort and time. Lastly, accounting is not a huge cost for any large company so their inclination towards spending capital expenditure to automate it may not be there as the penalty of inaccurate accounting is exhorbitantly high.
So all in all, I believe you are in a great spot and will do fine regardless of automation taking over accounting. You can shape your career depending on the trends you see and the question you asked shows us that you are a critical thinker, so all the best!
I think this a great question. If I am to believe that your fears are right and you are entering a field which will become obsolete in 20 years then I would rush into this field. Simply because 20 years is a long enough period for me to become a subject matter expert in accounting and command whatever money I want to oversee or consult companies on accounting automation. I wish someone had told me 20 years back the technology that will be prevalent today and I would have worked the last 20 years to become an expert in it. So don't fear automation, embrace it. You have a long journey ahead of you and a golden opportunity to lead the automation revolution of accounting. Become familiar with processes which are mundane and repetitive (which can be automated easily) and then try to automate them on your own. All these experiences will add up over time and you will be in demand everywhere when automation catches up. This revolution will need far more smart accountants than smart engineers and you can be one of them.
My personal belief is that accounting has a lot of areas where subjectivity is involved and those processes are really complex for any sort of AI to perform. Also, automation may work for smaller or newer companies who will buy the new systems and implement from the beginning but for older companies or the ones having operations across the globe, automation will take a lot of effort and time. Lastly, accounting is not a huge cost for any large company so their inclination towards spending capital expenditure to automate it may not be there as the penalty of inaccurate accounting is exhorbitantly high.
So all in all, I believe you are in a great spot and will do fine regardless of automation taking over accounting. You can shape your career depending on the trends you see and the question you asked shows us that you are a critical thinker, so all the best!
Thank you!
Genevieve
Tafadzwa Mundoma
Senior Audit Consultant
4
Answers
Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
Updated
Tafadzwa’s Answer
With the introduction of technology some repetitive tasks in accounting will be automated however not all of them. There are some aspects of accounting such as the use of estimates that require judgement and that in my opinion has not been automate.
Cool! So basically, automation will make my job easier. I'm always in favor of that! Thank you!
Genevieve
Kevin Greenlees, MAcc
Accountant, Financial Analyst, Automations Developer
19
Answers
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Updated
Kevin’s Answer
Full disclosure: after typing my original answer, I opted to let Career Village's AI review my response and modify it to make it friendlier. How's that for irony?
AI-enhanced answer, below:
I work in accounting automation. I create tools like RPA and other improvements to simplify low-value, repetitive tasks for my team. This allows us to focus on more challenging and value-added tasks. I've seen first-hand how AI and automation are transforming the accounting profession, and I find it hard to imagine a world where we're completely replaced.
Indeed, there's chatter in my team about possibly not needing to replace a colleague who's due to retire in two years. However, I'm confident that in that time, we'll encounter new challenges that need solving. Whether these are resolved by automation or human accountants, remember that the automation won't exist or work reliably without human beings designing, testing, and approving it.
Another point to consider is the existing legal framework in our country, which creates an environment where human accountants are still necessary, even if their role is to just validate the work done by AI and automated systems. For instance, audit committees still need to consist of qualified humans. I'm skeptical that congress would revise laws like Sarbanes-Oxley to allow AI to take over these roles. This is just one aspect of it, and there are numerous other responsibilities that still need a human to accept responsibility for attestations and business decisions.
AI-enhanced answer, below:
I work in accounting automation. I create tools like RPA and other improvements to simplify low-value, repetitive tasks for my team. This allows us to focus on more challenging and value-added tasks. I've seen first-hand how AI and automation are transforming the accounting profession, and I find it hard to imagine a world where we're completely replaced.
Indeed, there's chatter in my team about possibly not needing to replace a colleague who's due to retire in two years. However, I'm confident that in that time, we'll encounter new challenges that need solving. Whether these are resolved by automation or human accountants, remember that the automation won't exist or work reliably without human beings designing, testing, and approving it.
Another point to consider is the existing legal framework in our country, which creates an environment where human accountants are still necessary, even if their role is to just validate the work done by AI and automated systems. For instance, audit committees still need to consist of qualified humans. I'm skeptical that congress would revise laws like Sarbanes-Oxley to allow AI to take over these roles. This is just one aspect of it, and there are numerous other responsibilities that still need a human to accept responsibility for attestations and business decisions.
Lol! I love it! Best answer ever! Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my question. :)
Genevieve
Rameshbabu Raghavan
2
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Rameshbabu’s Answer
Accounting is already getting automated through various strategies, like robotics process automation, APIs, making improvement in the ERP system etc....and it's going to get better in coming years.
What can be done by the accountants is to learn more value added tasks that cannot be automated and need human intervention for making better decisions.
What can be done by the accountants is to learn more value added tasks that cannot be automated and need human intervention for making better decisions.
Thank you!
Genevieve
Scott Foster
Consulting
31
Answers
San Francisco, California
Updated
Scott’s Answer
Yes and this goes beyond accounting but the industry will still need people as the automations will take over basic and repetitive tasks freeing up people to work on more complex problems.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my question!
Genevieve