A profession in transition: actors, tasks and roles in AI-based accounting

Abstract

PurposeThis article ties in with current debates on the digital transformation of society and the consequent work changes. Using an artificial intelligence (AI)-based accounting context, the focus of this paper is on actors, roles and tasks and related skills on an individual level. The authors look at the effect of AI-based “smart” technology on the workforce in the broader accounting profession taking an intrafirm perspective, yet acknowledging that the digital transformation encompasses a much larger field in the financial sector.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conduct a Delphi study to identify the new roles and tasks in future accounting. In addition, the authors use expert workshops to clarify the related tasks and skills and determine whether either humans or AI-based technologies perform the roles or collaborate in professional accounting occupations.FindingsThe results show that tasks and skills for existing professional occupations in the broader acounting context will be subject to major changes in the next 10 years due to (AI based) digital technologies, while “core” roles and tasks will continue to exist in the future, some will not be performed by humans but by AI-based technology. For other “new” roles, humans will need to make informed use of digital technologies and, to some extent, collaborate with AI-based technology.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors look at the effect of AI-based “smart” technology on the workforce in the broader accounting profession, taking an intrafirm perspective.Practical implicationsThis article ties in with current debates on the digital transformation of society and the consequent work changes. Using an AI-based accounting context, the focus of this paper is on the new and adapted roles and tasks.Originality/valueThe comprehensive analysis based on the Delphi study and expert workshops provide ample innovative ground for future research on the impact of AI on organisations and society.

Artificial intelligence and the changing landscape of accounting: a viewpoint

“…Account checks and reconciliations can be done using smart bots, ensuring that the data is accessed only with password permission and the actions are tracked using an audit trail. Leitner-Hanetseder et al (2021) suggest that the AI-based technology will perform intercompany reconciliation work, assets and liabilities valuation and related reports preparation in the near future.…”

Limits of artificial intelligence in controlling and the ways forward: a call for future accounting research

“…For the employees in the field, we need to understand the new job roles and matching qualifications that are necessary to not only persist in this new area but also to help deal with the aberrations that any change the process will inevitably bring, with the ultimate goal to further develop the accounting profession (Leitner-Hanetseder et al , 2021). Questions in this area will be about the career prospects and related skills and about how our education systems can deal with the demand, along with those about the necessary tools to support human cognition given a highly abstract and aggregated level of information (such as visualisations and interactions), those about the psychological factors when it comes to change management and the necessity to adapt and finally those of power and control.…”

“…From this perspective, we identified the following salient questions:What will drive the dynamics in a geographically disembodied, highly distributed and heterogeneous AI-empowered accounting team of the future (Leitner-Hanetseder et al , 2021)?Can we find an optimal way in terms of efficiency, effectiveness and humanist values for a collaboration between AI and humans in different contexts and tasks?Who will be the new “powerful” actors in such a human–machine collaboration?What will be the necessary skills to cope with the rising demands in terms of a “digital fluency”?How should and could accounting education incorporate the necessary adaptions to not only train students in the application but also understand the larger picture and be aware of the humanist values and the ethical challenges of an AI application?…”

“…What will drive the dynamics in a geographically disembodied, highly distributed and heterogeneous AI-empowered accounting team of the future (Leitner-Hanetseder et al , 2021)?…”

Accounting in a Social Context

“…The ability of AI technology to automate work, combined with the availability of big data as discussed earlier [32] together with the use of smart big data analytics [67,68] elevate the true potential of AI to replace human endeavor [69]. With AI-based technologies, as people use and communicate with these tools, they are creating new routines while simultaneously facilitating the programming of autonomous working tools to take over certain areas of activity [70]. This raises questions as to which aspects of human work in accounting will be transferred to AI software.…”