Accounting a Dying Profession?

Accounting a Dying Profession? (Explained)

by

Are you considering pursuing a career as an Accountant and wanting to know if it’s a career worth pursuing?

You might be wondering if Accounting is a dead-end, dying profession?

It’s a very good question to have answered before you spend years pouring your effort into studying for an accounting degree.

So is Accounting a dying profession?

Accounting is not a dying field, the role of accounting is still in demand. It is projected that employment will grow 4 per cent from 2019 to 2029.  Demand for accountants is closely tied to the economy, as the economy grows so will the need for accountants to prepare, reconcile, and submit financial statements. 

Like many professional office-based roles, artificial intelligence and technology advancements will have an impact, redefining roles.

But in the end, there will always be certain accounting jobs or parts that cannot be performed by robots.

Where previously accountants would transact or sift through enormous amounts of data, artificial intelligence will help process large amounts of data.

As a result, Artificial intelligence will help accountancy to be more effective and efficient, completing repetitive, time-consuming tasks such as completing the business processes.

The good news is it will remove mundane aspects of an accountant’s role, allowing them more time to focus on stakeholder management and improved decision making.

There will always be a need for human intervention, human interaction, and decision making.

Customers both internal and external seek relationships, information, and advice from humans

In many Western countries accounting roles are being outsourced to low-cost countries like India.

These roles being impacted are typically processing type accounting roles such as accounts payables and receivables.

However, for every organization outsourcing their payables and receivables, there will be others who are bringing back their accounting department because outsourcing didn’t work.

Outsourcing of audit, management accounting, tax, and corporate finance roles or departments are not typically outsourced.

So when you are considering the type of accounting role you are looking to enter, also consider the job prospect, demand the role, and chances of being outsourced.

Keeping in mind accounting which has been around for hundreds if not thousands of years is still a popular career for many people and won’t be going away anytime soon.

The benefit of accounting is the skills of accounting are transferable, allowing you to move across companies and industries with relative ease.

Accountants are also in demand and pay generous wages.

The median wage in the USA is around $70k per annum. The best-paid 25% earn $92k per earn, whilst the lowest 25% earn $55k per annum.

Wages generally differ depending on the location of the role, type of role, staff management, and size of the organization.

If you are considering a career in Accounting and is something of interest to you, you are on track for a fulfilling and rewarding career.

If you have enjoyed this article and would like to know more about becoming an accountant, see some of our articles below

Related Articles