AI and the Accounting Profession: Views from Industry and Academia

Anecdotal and empirical evidence indicates that the growing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) within accounting firms and accounting departments leads to improvements in efficiency, a gradual increase in the share of AI workers, and a decrease in junior accounting employees. If this trend continues, would it signal the beginning of an era of diminishing demand for new accounting professionals and a shift in the required skill set of new accounting employees? The aim of the workshop, which, by happenstance, occurred the same week that OpenAI introduced ChatGPT, was to bring together Accounting Information Systems researchers and representatives from leading accounting firms for a conversation on the implications of AI for the accounting profession and related research opportunities. Although the panelists at the time had no way of knowing the capabilities of generative AI models like ChatGPT, their main message was timely and appropriate: Accountants with AI will replace accountants.