Inconvenient truths: AI will destroy accounting jobs. Preparation is key

AI will destroy more jobs than it creates according to expert Dean Furman. Leaving a smaller group of those who benefit and those who lose out. Preparation will be key. 

“Who are the people really talking about AI?

“It's keynote speakers, trainers, and so-called thought experts. Everyone wants you to say, 'Oh, it's going to create more than it destroys' because no company is going to hire someone to speak at their conference who's the doom and gloom guy, and they don't want to expose that person to their staff. It doesn't mean that it's true.”

This is the perspective of Dean Furman. He has been writing, speaking and training corporates on AI since before it became cool. Furman is due to speak at CIBA’s Practice Management Conference, which will focus on AI and the role of the accountant, later this week.  

He is not alone in his assessment. Earlier this year, a Goldman Sachs report found that 15 to 35 percent of work will be exposed to automation, with office jobs, particularly vulnerable. The report also states that since 1980 technology has displaced workers faster than it’s created new work opportunities.

“The reality is that there’s going to be two pots of people. Those who work with the technology and who are going to win more than ever before and those who are not, and who are going to be wiped out,” says Furman.

By shying away from the harsh reality, Furman believes corporations are doing their staff a disservice by not allowing them time to prepare for the cull. 

“It’s important for people to be made aware.  Not to completely frighten them, but just enough to put them into action,” says Furman. “Because you don't want to find out that you've been replaced when you get an email from your company.”

Move fast and learn things 

There is an upside especially for smaller companies says Furman.

“There’s is a lot of opportunity, and I think that's the exciting part. Larger firms have got bureaucracy, and it takes time to do anything. It will take them six months to change the lunch menu. There’s an opportunity for smaller firms to take advantage and become the accounting firm of the future.”

Acknowledging the destructive power of AI also gives people time to upskill. This doesn’t necessarily have to include formal education. 

“Universities are archaic. The thing is that there's more information from more qualified individuals on your phone and computer than at a university. So the idea that you have to go pay to sit to get outdated information is just ridiculous,” says Furman. 

There will, according to Furman, always be space for someone who has a unique speciality or who is top of their field.