75% of accounting graduates fear jobs will be taken by robots 

Three-quarters of graduates looking to pursue a career in accounting are concerned that automation could make their role redundant within two decades, according to research from online forum WikiJob

The graduate jobs site surveyed its members who had previously expressed an interest in an accounting career, and discovered that three-quarters of them (74%) were ‘concerned’ or ‘very concerned’ that robots might replace the accounting roles they were considering.

Graduates overwhelmingly cited bookkeeping as the area of accounting most under threat, with over 50% of those polled saying this was the function most at risk of being replaced in the medium- to long-term by machines.

Fewer than half of those polled believed accounting made for a good career choice at the moment. Almost 40% said that they were unsure about the prospects for an accounting career – and two-thirds of respondents were considering a career in an alternative industry to accounting (the most popular being management consulting).

James Rice, head of digital marketing at WikiJob, said: ‘The profession is in good health currently, but it must do all it can to persuade new recruits that their roles are ones that can’t easily be automated in the future. Otherwise accounting could find itself facing a recruitment crisis in years to come.’

Simon Wright, operations director at CareersinAudit, believes that the role of an accountant is changing and that people have to gain the right skill set if they do not want to be left behind.

Wright said: ‘Accountants are no longer the stereotypical bean-counter. They need to be armed with technological skills and have a much broader understanding of business for the ever growing number of entrepreneurs and small businesses setting up.

‘They need to focus on what might be called soft skills such as networking and generating new business. With an increasing number of accountants wanting to work abroad, there is also the need to have a good understanding of international regulation and practices.’

Source: CCH Daily

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