Is AI affecting careers in Finance?

February 28, 2024

As recruiters, we come across frequent concerns about whether AI is affecting careers in finance from our network of financial professionals. Is AI beneficial for the accounting space, or will the fear of career insecurity discourage graduates from studying finance and lead to a talent shortage? Will AI create new job openings, or lead to redundancy? In this article, we want to answer those concerns based on the knowledge we have of the market.

We will discuss:

  1. The Pros and Cons of AI in Accounting Careers
  2. Is AI Affecting Careers in Finance (Already)?
  3. Should We be Concerned About AI Affecting Careers in Finance?
  4. The Imperfections of AI in Finance Careers
  5. The Emergence of New Roles in Finance
  6. Recruiters Here to Help AI Concerns in Accounting
  7. Key Takeaways

1. The Pros and Cons of AI in Accounting Careers

To answer the question of whether AI is affecting careers in Finance, we first need to look at the pros and cons of AI in Accounting roles. AI has many uses: it can be used to reduce workload and streamline processes. It can also be used as a study or training tool, it can handle data and make projections, help with planning phases, and automate accounting processes.

 “A quarter (23%) of senior finance professionals see tools such as ChatGPT as a direct job threat.” – AccountsIQ

However, many are concerned that AI will go too far, and that future careers in Finance are at risk. There are questions surrounding exactly how much of an accountant’s role could be covered by AI, especially at entry level. Could organisations begin to rely on AI to cut employment costs, and even to attempt to reduce human error in accounting?

2. Is AI Affecting Careers in Finance (Already)?

Speaking to our network of senior finance leaders, we have heard concerns that the emergence of AI could be discouraging people from studying accounting or starting a career in finance. This has led to the question of whether we will see a downturn in financial professionals further down the line, with less professionals graduating from their studies. If this were to happen due to growing concerns about AI, this could lead to a talent shortage at part-qualified and entry-level accounting roles. Later, naturally, this could grow into a shortage at executive finance level as well.

3. Should we be Concerned About AI Affecting Careers in Finance?

So, with all of this information, should the accounting industry be concerned about AI affecting careers in finance? The answer is no, probably not.

With rapid advances in AI, we cannot say exactly how advanced it will become. However, as with all new tools and technologies, the key for the finance industry is going to be to adapt. Financial professionals will need to learn to use AI-driven tools in a positive way as part of their skillset in order for the industry to evolve with the times. Processes can become faster, streamlined and increasingly accurate. Already, approximately 91% of finance functions are planning to automate traditionally manual tasks, including data collection and reconciliation, and research indicates that automation is expected to address the issue of errors that affect nearly every finance function (96%) (AccountsIQ). Therefore, if the industry can learn to utilise these tools and employ them in a strategic way, the value of accountants has not disappeared. It has just adapted.

4. The Imperfections of AI in Financial Careers

AI tools still need trained professionals in order to operate them in tactical ways. It still needs people to improve and employ the strategies that it imposes. AI also has issues which need to be assessed by humans. For example, there are many examples of AI having biases and exhibiting discrimination due to the data that it is fed with being biased. Therefore, AI data always needs to be assessed and regulated by individuals.

“In a project focused on developing an AI system for automating financial reporting […] AI bias may emerge due to historical data disparities, perpetuating unfair financial outcomes. Moreover, the AI algorithms might inadvertently prioritise certain factors, impacting the precision of financial reporting.” – LinkedIn

Furthermore, AI often lacks originality as it relies on the data that it is fed with and it can be restricted by its programming. This makes its strategies less innovative. For a business to stand out, it will still require a human touch. There is also the managerial skillset that senior finance positions require, which cannot be performed by technology. It can just be assisted in some ways.

4. The Emergence of New Roles in Finance?

It is possible that AI will mainly affect roles in finance by causing them to evolve. New training will be needed as part of accounting certifications, with new AI-driven topics and tools being studied as part of financial qualifications. We may also see AI tools appearing more and more in ‘essential’ skills on job listings, to the extent that, in the future, new AI-driven job titles may even begin to emerge within accounting.

5. Recruiters Here to Help AI Concerns in Accounting

If you’re still concerned, luckily, you don’t have to be worried alone. As recruiters, we have to be experts in our market, and we receive market insights every day. We can share any information that we have on the state of the market with you, and advise you on your hiring strategy. If there were a day where AI created an issue, we would be here to support you with your career or hiring from our networks of top candidates and our market knowledge.

Whether you’re looking to grow your team or your career, get in touch with us here. We are here to help you with your goals.

Key Takeaways:

Overall, despite concerns about AI discouraging graduates from studying finance and taking accountants jobs, AI cannot completely replace humans. Ultimately, it is a series of tools that can make manual processes faster, but individuals are still required to operate and regulate those tools. The skillset required to do this may evolve what job specs look like in the accounting industry, and even may create new job titles. Finally, if AI ever were affecting careers in Finance, as recruiters, we would be here to support you through a talent shortage or a redundancy.

Luckily, none of the evidence at the moment suggests that AI will be anything but an asset for careers in finance that allows for processes to become more efficient. Ultimately, as long as your skillset or organisation evolves with the industry alongside these new AI tools, then your desirability as a company or candidate can only improve.