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In your professional opinion, do you believe the increase in technology will decrease the demand for accountants because some of their jobs will become obsolete?

I am planning on majoring in accounting, but I am beginning to worry as I've heard comments about how technology will decrease the demand for accountants and therefore getting a job will be increasingly difficult. #technology #jobs #accounting #majors #demand

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Jamie’s Answer

Hi Nicole! Great question. Based on my experience working at a Big 4 accounting firm, I think that technology has and will continue to become a large part of an accountant's job. Not only will it make the work more efficient by eliminating the need to perform repetitive and timely tasks that do not require as much technical knowledge to complete, it will also allow employees to focus their efforts on some of the more interesting and judgement based areas of the job increasingly earlier in their careers. These advances will not cause the profession to become obsolete, but rather change the responsibilities and tasks of the job.
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Rose’s Answer

There is an increasing need for accountants to be well versed in computer science, data analytics, and process design. Fortunately, there are still many opportunities to gain a foundation in the tasks that will be automated going forward, especially in small businesses that have not yet invested in systems. As you grow in your career, you will be leveraging ERP systems, business intelligence and data mining software, etc., leaving you to use your human brain to make necessary decisions.
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Leah’s Answer

Technology and innovation impacts virtually all career paths, just some more than others and some on a more accelerated timeframe than others. Accounting is a broad subject - aspects that are being done manually today (eg, basic bookkeeping) are ripe for automation where as aspects that more subjective (eg, analyzing changing guidance in revenue recognition standards and applying them) can't escape a person making judgment calls based on accounting principles. As you consider potential careers, look at their responsibilities and think about what percentage of them require skill, experience, and judgments a computer couldn't make vs. routine processing. Those will be the ones still around in 30 years :)
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Daniel’s Answer

From talking to my s/o (who is an accountant) and from my experience (software, but no knowledge of accounting), I would guess:


1) demand for accountants overall will increase, not decrease.
2) required skill sets for accountants will change (you'll have to keep on top of things) - but as I ubdet, this is already the case, accounting rules change all the time, etc.
3) it's maybe possible that certain areas of accounting (perhaps auditing) would see more growth


Again, somewhat of an outside perspective here.
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Martin Olivier’s Answer

Technology will change the landscape of accounting and tax, mostly in conformity field.

Although I strongly believe that accountant will migrate to being effective consultant and still be relevant. I don’t think the demand will significally decrease.
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Ruth-Anne’s Answer

Change in any profession is constant. The standards, regulations, and common practice are relatively fluid. I don't believe that the demand for accountants will decrease, rather the nature of the work will change. Many repetitive, routine tasks are being (or have been) automated, leaving the activities and tasks requiring the exercise of judgment. In my opinion, accounting has become a much more interesting field.

I would also encourage you to enhance your data analytics skills and understanding of data lakes. Strong data is the key to good decisions.

Best wishes on you decisions for your future.
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Ann’s Answer

I don't think so. Much of the automation of the accounting job has already taken place, but you can't replace the portion of the job that requires judgement. In my opinion, the boring parts of the job are what has been automated. What makes it interesting are the parts that can't be automated.
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Jordan’s Answer

While I do think technology will change the nature of the accounting profession, I do not believe it will cause the profession to become obsolete. Currently, the big firms are in the process of implementing technology into their audit and tax programs to enhance efficiency and optimize the performance of their employees. I think technology will allow employees to focus on the more judgmental areas of the profession, while at the same time minimizing the administrative tasks.
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