Most conversations about AI revolve around the time and money it can save, but in accountancy, I’m starting to wonder whether we’re paying enough attention to what we might lose along the way.
Having recruited for accountancy practices for more than 20 years, I've seen the profession change considerably. While I'm all for technology making life easier, advances in AI raise some interesting questions about the people firms will need in the future.
There's no doubt about the opportunity. If AI can automate routine tasks and give accountants more time to solve problems, advise clients and add value, that’s a good thing, but many of those routine tasks play an important role in developing the next generation of accountants.
How will people learn the ropes?
Preparing accounts, working through calculations, and resolving everyday queries might not be glamorous, but they help people build the technical understanding and experience that underpin sound professional judgement. If AI takes away that foundation, how will people develop the skills they need?
It's a question firms should be asking, especially as ICAEW research published in May 2026 found that 68% of the 35 mid-tier firms surveyed expected AI to reduce demand for some early-career roles. Yet only 17% felt able to assess its impact on their workforce.
That's quite a gap between embracing new technology and understanding what it means for your people.
What skills will matter most?
One of the most interesting questions AI raises is about technical knowledge itself. If intelligent systems can produce the answers, does the accountant of the future need to know as much?
I'd argue that understanding what sits behind those answers, and having the experience and know-how to challenge and ask the right questions, could become more important, not less.
Someone still needs to recognise when things don't look right, understand the implications, and take responsibility for the advice being given. Being able to generate an answer isn't the same as knowing whether it's correct or ethical, but technical knowledge alone has never been enough to make someone a great accountant.
Commercial awareness, communication, critical thinking, and the ability to build relationships look set to become even more valuable. As will curiosity, adaptability, and confidence using technology. This may present an opportunity to attract a different kind of person into the profession.
While firms can't simply change their recruitment criteria and expect the problem to solve itself, they can rethink how junior accountants learn, gain experience, and develop into future managers and partners.
Personally, I don't believe employers have a responsibility to preserve every task that technology can perform, but I do think they have an obligation to consider how their people can develop as the work changes.
AI needs to be part of a wider business and people strategy, rather than simply a way to improve efficiency and reduce costs.
The firm of 2030
So, what could an accountancy practice look like in 2030?
We could have a workplace where technology handles much of the routine work, accountants spend more time advising clients, and talented people progress faster through more interesting and rewarding careers.
Alternatively, we could find ourselves struggling to recruit experienced accountants because we've inadvertently removed the opportunities through which they once developed and learned.
I suspect the reality will fall somewhere between the two, but the decisions firms make today about technology, recruitment, and developing their people will go a long way towards determining where they end up.