The accounting profession is undergoing a profound transformation. As artificial intelligence (AI) and outsourcing become central to firm operations, questions abound: Will there be enough meaningful work left for new accountants? Do I even need graduate accountants? Or, more optimistically, can these trends create a better environment for graduates to learn, grow, and thrive?
Recent insights from business leaders and authoritative industry sources confirm that AI and outsourcing are not threats, but powerful allies for the next generation of accountants. Managers and partners should embrace all three workforces, graduates, AI, and outsourcing, to deliver the highest standards of client work while providing graduates with challenging experience and a better work-life balance.
The Old Way: Grunt Work as a Rite of Passage
Traditionally, graduate accountants began their careers with repetitive, manual tasks like data entry, reconciliations, and basic bookkeeping. This “grunt work” was seen as essential training before moving on to more complex assignments. However, this model is rapidly becoming obsolete. AI and outsourcing can now automate or shift much of this work to specialized, lower cost teams, freeing up time for more valuable learning experiences.
Chayton Farlee, a recent accounting graduate, host of the podcast Accounting Conversations and advocate for technology in the profession, highlights this shift:
“All the journal entries I’ve learned are very high level. In my entry-level accounting classes, it was like you learned the chart of accounts, basic debits and credits, and that was it. They don’t teach the month-end close in school. They don’t teach how to do annual accruals, or how payroll entries work. None of that.”
This echoes the broader industry view. As Paul Lodder, Vice-President of Accounting and Product Strategy at Dext, notes:
“By using AI, accountancy and bookkeeping firms can streamline processes and reduce manual work. Not only does that free up accounting professionals to focus on higher-value work, but it can also help improve accuracy by reducing the risk of human error.”
(Source: Dext, 2024)
The New Model: Three Workforces, One High-Performing Team
Forward-thinking firms are flipping this paradigm. Instead of viewing AI and outsourcing as threats to graduate opportunities, they are integrating these resources to free up graduates for more valuable, engaging work.
How AI and Outsourcing Help Graduates
- Eliminating Repetitive Tasks: AI automates data entry, transaction coding, and even elements of tax research, while outsourcing teams handle standardized processes. This means graduates spend less time on mindless work and more time developing valuable skills.
- Accelerating Learning: AI-powered platforms provide on-demand access to training, SOPs, and firm-specific knowledge bases. This speeds up onboarding and reduces reliance on busy managers.
- Exposure to Real Client Issues: With automation and outsourcing handling the basics, graduates can be involved earlier in higher-value work. Think client meetings, advisory projects, technology implementations, and complex closes.
- Work-Life Balance: Offloading routine work to AI and outsourcing partners helps prevent graduates from being stuck constantly working on low-value (yet critical) repetitive tasks, supporting better work-life balance.
Chayton shares the practical benefits:
“Using AI to provide your team with resources to learn on their own, that’s another huge place where there’s a need and want… For example, we upload our SOPs and interns can go in and ask questions of all the SOPs. That’s the starting point. If they go there, do their research, they’re already halfway there. Now the questions to their manager should be much more meaningful”
This aligns with broader industry trends. As reported in CPA Practice Advisor:
“Implementing AI along with outsourcing can amplify the productivity benefits and other positives that each strategy offers individually. … By layering these AI use cases with outsourcing for basic accounting processes, finance and accounting organizations can reduce employee workloads, which in turn reduces the risk of errors and attrition.”
(Source: CPA Practice Advisor, 2024)
Addressing the Concerns: Will There Be Enough Work for Grads?
Some fear that if AI and outsourcing take over the basics, there won’t be enough work left for new accountants. In reality, the profession is crying out for graduates who are tech-savvy, adaptable, and eager to take on new challenges.
Chayton’s experience is echoed by industry experts. As noted by Global FPO:
“AI will benefit various stakeholders in the accounting world in different ways. While AI will automate many routine accounting tasks, it may also shift certain job roles. Tasks that involve data entry, reconciliation, and basic auditing may decrease. On the flip side, roles in data analysis, AI tool management, and consulting are likely to rise.”
(Source: Global FPO, 2024)
- Cloud Accounting Is Growing: Cloud accounting firms, are expanding rapidly and need graduates who can hit the ground running, And because of their typically remote nature, they can live anywhere.
- Demand for Tech Skills: Firms want new hires who understand not just accounting, but also the software and systems that power modern practices. Those who can bridge the gap between accounting knowledge and technology will be in high demand.
- Opportunity for Impact: In smaller, tech-driven firms, graduates can make a real difference from day one, participating in decision-making and tech implementations.
The profession’s talent shortage further underscores the opportunity for graduates. As Megan Weis writes in CPA Practice Advisor:
“The accounting profession is dealing with a years long decline in new graduates in the field, so outsourcing is already widely practiced. Eighty-three percent of senior leaders surveyed in 2024 said they had a shortage of accounting talent, while another survey of CFOs found that 90% were outsourcing ‘at least some accounting functions’ in 2024.”
(Source: CPA Practice Advisor, 2024)
The Manager’s Role: Building a Balanced, Future-Ready Team
The most successful firms will be those that embrace all three workforces—graduates, AI, and outsourcing—and integrate them thoughtfully.
Practical Steps for Firm Leaders
- Invest in Training: Provide structured onboarding, access to AI-powered learning resources, and mentorship. Don’t expect graduates to arrive knowing every tool or process.
- Redesign Workflows: Map out which tasks are best suited to AI, which can be outsourced, and which require the judgment and creativity of a human accountant. Assign graduates to projects that stretch their skills and encourage growth.
- Promote a Learning Culture: Encourage curiosity and experimentation. Make it clear that using AI and collaborating with outsourced teams are not shortcuts, but smart ways to deliver better outcomes for clients.
- Champion Work-Life Balance: Use technology and outsourcing to manage workloads and avoid burnout. Highlight your firm’s commitment to flexibility and well-being when recruiting graduates.
As VBP Insights puts it:
“The real value of AI lies in allowing your existing talent to focus on higher-value activities, such as client advisory and strategic planning, rather than focusing on mundane tasks. … By combining AI’s efficiency with your accountants’ expertise, your firm can increase its capacity, minimize errors, and ultimately deliver better client outcomes.”
(Source: VBP Insights, 2024)
The Future Is Collaborative (and Human)
The rise of AI and outsourcing in accounting is not the end of the graduate accountant. Instead, it’s an opportunity to reimagine what a career in the profession can look like: less drudgery, more learning; fewer late nights, more balance; and, most importantly, a chance to make a real impact from the very start.
Managers and partners who recognize the power of this three-pronged workforce will not only attract the best graduate talent, but also deliver higher-quality service to clients, adapt more quickly to change, and build a culture that values both efficiency and human potential.
The future of accounting is not about choosing between people and technology. Instead, it’s about harnessing the best of both, and giving the next generation every chance to succeed.
References:
- Dext, “How AI Is Transforming Accounting,” 2024.
- CPA Practice Advisor, “Accounting Outsourcing Trends,” 2024.
- Global FPO, “How AI Is Changing the Accounting Profession,” 2024.
- VBP Insights, “AI and the Future of Accounting,” 2024.
- Accounting Times Australia, “AI and Automation in Accounting,” 2024.
This article is based on a conversation with Chayton Farlee, recent graduate and host of the Accounting Conversations podcast, and supported by recent research and commentary from leading industry sources.
