The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that 136,400 accountants and auditors will be needed each year over the next decade in order to meet market demand. However, as a new wave of students graduate and enter the workforce, a concerning trend is only getting worse: Accountants are few and far between.
Not only are incoming generations not occupying these roles, but current workers are also vacating their positions. In fact, more than 300,000 U.S. accountants and auditors left their jobs in the past two years, marking a 17% decline in employed accountants and auditors from 2019.
The good news? Technology can help. Here are a few ways that technology can help transform the profession:
AI is an opportunity, not a threat
Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning can help eliminate tedious tasks around accounting, reporting, and financial planning, and analysis (FP&A) processes. Whether a team is recording transactions, posting them to their general ledger or creating financial statements, accountants can leverage AI to help streamline the complete workflow.
AI, for example, can analyze large volumes of data more quickly and accurately and enable accounting teams to rapidly uncover insights, identify trends, and make data-driven recommendations. AI can also help to speed the financial close process by decreasing the amount of time spent on account reconciliation and improving the quality of audits by flagging outliers or anomalies for teams to further investigate.
New technology = job satisfaction
Retaining a new generation of accountants will not be a simple feat. In fact, graduates of accounting programs cite high levels of burnout, long hours, and busy seasons.
However, leveraging AI will help reduce the daily labor burden on accounting teams by evolving their responsibilities from doing the process to managing or overseeing it. In fact, 60% of accountants have reported that technology is more important in their job satisfaction today than just 2-3 years ago. Moreover, modern financial systems have become a pre-requisite for attracting new accounting talent. Technology like AI will not replace accounting teams but will help save countless labor hours and simultaneously enhance the way those teams operate and fit within the larger architecture of their business.
The future of finance
Over the next few years, we’ll see more and more finance and accounting teams leverage modern, cloud-based accounting applications that are embedded with next-generation technology, such as AI, machine learning, and digital assistants. These types of technologies can automate and eliminate the manual business processes that keep finance and accounting teams in a constant state of reaction to business demands.
By automating repetitive tasks, accountants will be empowered to redirect their focus to more value-adding work. This shift can enable them to become strategic partners to the business. Providing employees access to AI technology will help attract and retain talent for years to come. The future of finance will see employees working in tandem with AI to usher in massive productivity gains and unlock new levels of innovation.
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
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Jennifer Toomey
Jennifer Toomey is Vice President of Product Marketing at Oracle Corporation, where she leads a team responsible for thought leadership, messaging, go-to-market strategies, and sales enablement for Oracle’s ERP and enterprise performance management (EPM) cloud applications.
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