How AI & Automation are Changing Accounting?

The landscape of the accounting profession is undergoing significant transformation due to the advances in technology driven by artificial intelligence and automation. These developments are reshaping how traditional accounting tasks are performed. 

The accounting field presents numerous career opportunities and is known for providing strong job security and stability in the workforce. As technology advances and new tools emerge, staying updated is essential to future-proof your career. As per the reports of  Mordor Intelligence, the AI in Accounting market size is expected to reach USD 37.60 billion by 2030. 

In the future, Artificial Intelligence will significantly impact all levels of the Accounting profession. The table below highlights the impact of AI & Automation in key areas of entry-level, mid-level, and expert-level accounting jobs. 

How AI & Automation are Going to Impact Accounting Careers?

Let’s dive deeper into how AI & Automation will impact Entry-level, Managerial-level, and Senior-level Accounting Careers. 

Impact of AI on Entry-Level Accounting Careers:

AI is likely to impact entry-level and manual-based accounting jobs more than mid- and senior-level jobs.  

According to Ethan Richardson, CMO of  Exquisite Timepieces, 

“Approximately 30% of accounts and finance jobs could be automated by 2035. AI systems like Robotic Process Automation (RPA) will streamline the majority of the routine tasks in Accounting. Finance and Accounting professionals must master tools like Python for data analysis, Tableau for data visualization, and blockchain technology to stay relevant.” 

The following points discuss how AI will impact Entry-level Accounting jobs

1. Automating Routine Tasks:

 AI will help in reducing the workload of routine tasks for entry-level accounting professionals. AI can automate the following routine tasks in accounting,  

• Invoice Processing: AI can significantly speed up the matching process of purchase orders, invoices, and payment receipts without requiring any human intervention. 

• Bank Reconciliation Statements: AI can quickly compare an organization’s bank statements with its internal financial records, saving hours of manual work. AI systems offer continuous reconciliation, where transactions are automatically reconciled as they occur.

• Payroll Processing: AI ensures payroll is always in compliance without the need for constant human intervention. AI systems can process payroll by calculating wages, taxes and deductions based on the rules of the company. 

2. Detection of Accounting Errors: 

AI-powered tools like Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Robotic Process Automation (RPA) can interpret financial documents and extract relevant data.  AI can easily detect any mismatches and unusual data patterns, reducing the occurrence of errors that occur during manual data entry.  Thus, mastering the latest AI tools helps in ensuring consistency and accuracy in financial records. 

3. Tax Compliance:

AI can automatically calculate taxes and streamline tax filings based on the latest regulations. AI tools will also ensure the accuracy of a company's financial records for submitting records, reducing the need to perform manual calculations by entry-level accountants. 

4. Effective Cash Flow Management: 

AI can seamlessly integrate with Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems, providing real-time cash flow data. By analyzing the financial history of the organization, AI can predict future cash flows with more accuracy and offer precise forecasts. This helps entry-level accounting professionals in taking higher-level job roles. 

If you are a fresher and think you lack accounting skills, you can take Accounting and finance Courses to strengthen your knowledge and skills in Accounting.   

Impact of AI on Mid-Level Accounting Careers:

A mid-level accountant is a professional with extensive knowledge in accounting, ensuring the integrity and timeliness of financial reporting. AI will have its impact in automating various repetitive tasks of mid-level accounting professionals. Now let's delve into the impact of AI on Managerial/Mid-level accounting jobs. 

1. Financial Reporting:

The AI system benefits mid-level accounting professionals in the following ways for financial reporting,

2. Financial Analysis: 

Traditional financial analysis involves a lot of manual work. It is possible to make a financial analysis using an AI Large Language Model (LLM). Bloomberg GPT and FinBERT are the two popular LLMs that adapt to the finance domain. 

Bloomberg GPT is a 50-billion-parameter large language model used to address Natural Language Processing (NLP) tasks specific to the finance industry. Its popular uses are financial analysis, research, and automated financial reporting. 

FinBERT is a pre-trained open-source NLP model used to analyze the sentiment of the financial text. It is built based on the BERT language model, and it is widely used for financial sentiment analysis. 

3. Financial Forecasting and Budgeting:

Mid-level Accountants play a major role in Financial forecasting and budgeting. AI in financial forecasting and budgeting is rapidly transforming how businesses and organizations approach financial planning. AI can help mid-level accountants and finance professionals in the following ways,

4. Audit Assistance: 

AI can help in the areas of Internal and External Finance Auditing in the following ways, 

Along with mastering AI skills, pursue any of the 10 best accounting certifications to reach the top of the corporate ladder.  

Impact of AI on Senior-Level Accounting Careers:

Let’s now concentrate on the impact of AI on Senior-Level Accounting Careers.