AI and accounting: Should we be afraid of the robots?

Last night’s BBC Panorama report looked into the effect that artificial intelligence (AI) will have on jobs across the world, highlighting the accountancy sector as one that will increasingly involve AI automation.

This is part of a wider trend for technology-driven innovation within accountancy, which has been discussed in depth in the September/October edition of Accounting Technician, arriving in mailboxes soon. “Processes that were traditionally performed by entry-level accountants are now comfortably within the scope of technology,” says Nick Levine, head accountant for LimeGreen Accountancy.

This is a scary thought – could you be replaced by a robot tomorrow? It’s not as simple as that, says Dr Helen Meese, head of engineering in society for the Institution of Mechanical engineers: “While most of us consider AI human-like, most AI in the future will probably be much more ethereal – providing us with access to global information via vast cloud-based networks.”

In finance, these networks and systems are being designed to track user habits. They look at behavioural characteristics and financial data, and personalise information to be used to better inform and tailor business advice.

This might be fine for collating data, but not necessarily for more complex tasks. There is also the question of trust: will people trust a machine with their finances over and above a qualified human being? AAT past-president Henry Cooper has his doubts: “There’s a definite trust issue here – are people really going to trust something as complex as tax to a machine alone? In some ways, it’s hard to argue against, but you do need some human interaction to do the sanity checks that are necessary for accounting.”

Cooper believes that some automation is inevitable and the profession has to accept and embrace it. This change will most likely create new tasks for accountants to do, and overall, will make roles in all levels of the profession more involved and more specialized.

“But there are always opportunities within change like this. It’s all about embracing it and assessing it to find out where the opportunities lie.” Nick Levine agrees: Accountants are already moving onto more value-added tasks. Today’s best accountancy firms are hotbeds of cutting edge technical skills.”

For more from Henry Cooper, Helen Meese and Nick Levine, read the latest edition of Accounting Technician – out this week

Mark Rowland is a journalist and former editor of Accounting Technician and 20 magazine.