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We’re still very much in the early innings of AI, so knowing exactly how AI will transform on its own as well as in relation to accounting is a little beyond most anyone’s grasp.
However, accountants and their teams should expect AI to stick around — thus, they should also expect to adapt their skillsets and practices to match.
These four qualities will be fundamental for future accounting success:
Below, we’ve outlined how these traits crop up within existing workflows and team dynamics.
Large language models are impressive, but when it comes to understanding accounting nuances, they’re still a bit behind. Passing the CPA exam is no easy feat, but the daily thinking required in accounting often surpasses the test's demands, limiting AI's response capabilities.
Accountants will continue to excel where AI falls short on the merits of their technical accounting skill. A key part of this is recognizing when a business decision has an accounting impact in the first place—something that's easy for an accountant skilled in technical accounting but nearly impossible for AI. For example, if the marketing team spends money on a big ad campaign, can you correctly account for the billboards used as embedded leases?
Consider the stickiness of an area like contracts: if agreements have embedded derivatives or intricate clauses regarding equity, accountants are liable for knowing when and where to apply the appropriate accounting treatments. The same goes for matching certain conditions, such as revenue recognition, to a company’s internal policy.
Good accountants must know more than the basics of cash-basis accounting, especially given that AI is already pretty good at doing these calculations and writing journal entries.
In the accounting space, AI tools are just one part of a larger picture. No single solution can handle every task – different software manages payroll, company credit cards, close management, and more. Even ERPS, the massive applications that serve as the central hub for company finances, rely on add-ons to cover functionalities outside the core product.
With so many options available, choosing the right tools can drive progress while the wrong tools saddle teams with substantial software debt, or worse, disrupt the working environment. Good accountants generally understand the breadth of the finance tech stack, but the best ones see how these tools align within their business context. From there, they determine which tools to integrate and then build a system around them.