The kinds of accounting jobs that will become a lot less common in the future — if they even remain at all — are those that involve the inputting and manipulation of data for routine and repeatable tasks, which traditionally have relied on quantity to turn a decent profit.
People currently in positions like this would be well advised to pivot towards a more advisory and analytical approach, according to experts in the profession.
So what are these jobs? Who should be taking this advice to heart?
Basic bookkeepers were mentioned over and over again by the experts we spoke with. Chris Vanover, head of accounting staffing firm CPA Club, noted that a lot of these positions rely on rote processes that are already being automated, and whatever isn't automated is vulnerable to being offshored instead. While certain firms, especially smaller ones, still do a lot of this work, he felt that over time there will be less and less demand for it, as the amount of labor required for these tasks will collapse.
"The general accounting service roles, where you think about the manual bookkeeping processes that many local firms undertake for clients — as the demographics of those clients shift and recognize the power of technology, those firms will, in my opinion, eliminate more of those traditional bookkeeping positions because that can all be automated these days. The only person you need is someone who has the critical analysis ability to identify when something looks awry," he said.
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Along similar lines, other positions that are likely on their way out include specialists in accounts payable and accounts receivable, given that invoicing technology is already advanced to the point where many of the tasks associated with these processes, such as gathering documentation or cataloging transactions, have already been automated. Jack Castonguay, a Hofstra University professor and vice president of learning and development with CPA Exam prep company Surgent, noted that the only tasks that companies might still need people for are very complex and unusual transactions; otherwise they can be either automated or offshored.
"It's basic debits and credits … . On a day to day, if you have a sale [going out] or an AP invoice coming in, or making a recurring payment on your mortgage property, that can be outsourced or offshored. … I've had former students who really enjoyed their financial accounting class saying 'I want to go into this field,' and I caution them against it," he said.
Payroll services will also dry up as a viable source of income for the firms that take on these engagements and the professionals who perform the work. This is for the same reason as bookkeeping, AP and AR: It is a very rules-based field that lends itself well to automation. Vendors have figured this out too, as the number of automated payroll solutions grows by the year.
"Yes, [payroll] is on my list also. I could see that, particularly if you get a standard report from QuickBooks, ADP or Workday, it is super-easy to write a script to pull numbers and put them in an account each time. You don't need the manpower or ability for someone to pull up the payroll reports. To me, that is very similar to bookkeeping," added Castonguay.
Beyond these basic general accounting services, another kind of professional that experts predict will become more rare is the individual tax preparer who processes large numbers of simple returns. While the highly trained specialist working on the K-1 for a major multinational corporation will still have plenty to do, the accountant who spends most of their day filling in basic 1040s is on the way out, according to Jody Grunden, partner and virtual CFO practice leader with Summit Virtual CFO. He noted that his own company has dramatically reduced how many simple personal returns it does for clients, choosing instead to concentrate mostly on higher-value, complex returns. While there are entire firms devoted to these simple returns, he does not feel they are long for this world — and though M&A deals are seen as a lifeline for struggling firms, he felt it was unlikely they'd save simple tax practices.
"Tax return companies that just do returns — I would never buy one, ever, and they used to be the gold standard. … There's no reason to get one except being super-strategic, [like] they own a piece of property I need or have some industry knowledge. But the basic stuff, that'll just go away, meaning you won't have anyone buying them for a smaller margin or just not have anyone buy them at all and just kind of drift off and disperse. If I had a simple tax practice, I'd be very worried," he said.
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Finally, according to Vanover of CPA Club, there is the senior audit associate. The audit associate, he said, has already been completely transformed, but as technology improves and offshoring becomes more common, this disruption will start making its way up the ladder as more tasks become standardized and thus automatable.
"I do feel the manager, the senior manager, director, partner-level titles are generally safe, but I do feel like automation and AI and outsourcing are continually consuming more as we move up the ladder. So, the audit associate [is already obsolete], the experienced audit associate is next, the audit senior associate will lose their utility eventually as well. … I still need someone to sign off on these things. So I still need a senior manager or partner who can provide that critical insight into what's been done. But I'd worry about anyone with less than five years of experience. If they don't quickly upskill themselves with really good analytical abilities, they may be cannibalized by technology and outsourcing," he said.
