Soedirman Accounting Review (SAR): Journal of Accounting and Business

Vol. 09 No.01 Tahun 2024, Hal 99 - 110

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN ACCOUNTING: IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICES

AND EDUCATION

Kiky Srirejeki1*, Jian Liang2

1
Department of Accounting, Universitas Jenderal Soedirman, Indonesia
2
Accounting and Finance Department, University of Western Australia Business School, Australia
*
Email corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstrak

Kami melakukakan tinjauan literatur semi-terstruktur mengenai manfaat dan potensi dampak
kecerdasan buatan (Artificial Intelligence/AI) dalam praktisk dan profesi akuntansi. Analisis kami
menyoroti aplikasi AI saat ini, terutama dalam praktik audit yang dapat meningkatkan produktivitas dan
meningkatkan kualitas laporan keuangan. Kemajuan tersebut memungkinkan akuntan untuk beralih
dari peran tradisional ke posisi yang lebih strategis. Meskipun manfaat AI signifikan dalam banyak
praktik akuntansi, kami juga mengakui potensi risiko tekait adopsi AI. Selain itu, kami membahas
implikasi dari adopsi AI yang luas untuk akuntan masa depan dan pendidikan akuntansi. Hasil analisis
kami menyimpulkan bahwa akuntan masa depan perlu memiliki ketrampulan interdisipliner agar dapat
memberikan layanan dengan nilai tambah yang lebih tinggi. Oleh karena itu, kami menyerukan upaya
kolaboratif dari fakultas dan program studi untuk mengembangkan kurikulum akuntansi agar dapat
beradaptasi dengan perubahan yang disebabkan oleh AI. Studi kami memberikan tinjauan terbaru
tentang penelitian AI dalam akuntansi dan menekankan pentingnya adaptasi kurikulum untuk
mempersiapkan para profesional masa depan. Namun, ketergantungan kami pada kerangka teoretis
dan data sekunder mungkin tidak sepenuhnya menangkap dampak praktis AI, dan kemajuan AI yang
cepat dapat dengan cepat membuat temuan kami menjadi usang, sehingga memerlukan penelitian
yang berkelanjutan.

Kata Kunci: accounting; accounting education; kecerdasan buatan (AI).

JEL Code: M41, O33, M48.

Abstract

We conduct a semi-structured literature review on the benefits and concerns that artificial intelligence
(AI) brings to the accounting practice and the profession. Our analysis highlights AI’s current
applications, particularly in auditing in which it boosts productivity and enhances audit quality and
financial reporting quality. These advancements enable accountants to transition from traditional roles
to strategic advisory positions. Despite such benefits, we also acknowledge the potential risks
concerning AI adoption. Furthermore, we discuss the implications of the widespread adoption of AI for
future accountants and the accounting education. Future accountants need to possess interdisciplinary
skills to perform higher-value-added services. Hence, we call for collaborative efforts of faculties to
develop accounting curricula to adapt to the change. Our study provides an up-to-date review of recent
AI research in accounting and stresses the importance of curriculum adaptation to prepare future
professionals. However, our reliance on theoretical frameworks and secondary data may not fully
capture AI's practical impacts, and rapid AI advancements may quickly render our findings outdated,
necessitating ongoing research.

Keywords: accounting; accounting education; artificial intelligence (AI)

JEL Code: M41, O33, M48.

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INTRODUCTION
Artificial intelligence (AI) has become topical in recent years. For instance, ChatGPT, an AI
chatbot launched in late 2022, was soon among the top three rising Google searches in 2023 (Webb,
2024). The innovations and advancements in AI are said to have fuelled the Fourth Industrial
Revolution (Schwab, 2017; McKinsey, 2022; Wang, 2023). In the field of accounting, the market size
of AI is estimated at USD 1.56 billion in 2024 and expected to increase to USD 6.62 billion in 2029 on
a compound annual growth rate of 33.5% (Mordor Intelligence, 2024).
Facing the potential of AI applications in accounting, researchers have identified accounting
jobs as one of the areas that are most exposed to AI-powered software, where exposure refers to
the ability of technologies to save a significant amount of time completing a large portion of the
worker’s tasks (Eloundou et al., 2023). With the exciting progress in technologies, questions are to
be asked. What is AI? How have AI technologies been used in the accounting field? What does
research say about AI in accounting? And what are the implications for accounting professionals and
accounting educators? These questions motivate our study.
The objectives of our study are twofold. First, we conduct a semi-systematic review of the
research on AI in accounting to provide insights on the benefits and risks that AI could bring to the
accounting field. Second, we discuss AI’s implications for accounting education. We target audience
who have background knowledge in accounting and share similar interests in those questions about
AI.
Our study contributes to the literature in the following ways. First, we present a timely review
of the research on AI in accounting by including publications and working papers up to early 2024.
Our inclusion of the latest studies complements previous literature reviews that covered earlier
publication dates. For example, Agustí and Orta-Pérez’s (2023) bibliometric analysis of the
accounting AI research includes studies up until 2020. Second, to the extent that ChatGPT raises
general awareness of AI, our review is arguably more pertinent to the AI topic because we also cover
research on ChatGPT. Before ChatGPT, the accounting AI research often focused on the machine
learning technology to recognize patterns and make forecasts, which are different application
domains of AI technologies (see Kureljusic and Karger, 2024). Third, our study highlights the
implications of AI adoption for the future of accounting education and practice. By examining how
AI can transform traditional accounting roles and the necessary skills for future professionals, we
provide insights into the evolving landscape of the accounting profession. Furthermore, our findings
contribute to the potential inclusion of changes in curriculum due to AI adoption, underscoring the
need to integrate AI-related topics such as data analytics, machine learning, and AI-driven decision
support systems into accounting education.
The remainder of our study is organized as follows. Section 2 explains the research method.
Section 3 reviews AI and its current applications in accounting. Section 4 highlights the research on
the benefits and risks of AI applications in accounting. Section 5 discusses the implications for
accounting professionals and educators. Section 6 concludes.

RESEARCH METHOD
We conducted a semi-structured review of the literature on AI and accounting. Using the
keywords “AI” and “accounting”, we review the search results on Google Scholar and Social Science
Research Network (SSRN). The keyword search returned millions of results on Google Scholar as of
April 2024. To carry out our task, we limited our review to the top 200 results, sorted by the default
relevance by Google Scholar. Our keyword search returned about 150 results on SSRN, which are
included in our review.
Our first impression of the studies found on Google Scholar is that they are recently published
and have a relatively good number of citations. Based on our records, the top 150 results on Google
Scholar have an average publication year of 2019 (median publication year = 2021) and an average
citation number of 45 (median citation number = 22).

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Second, many of the top 200 articles on Google Scholar are published in non-top tier journals
(i.e., not a Financial Times Top 50 (FT50) journal). Regarding the two in FT50 journals, one was
published in Journal of Accounting Research (see Commerford et al. 2022) and the other in Review
of Accounting Studies (see Fedyk et al., 2022). There are also studies published in reputable journals
that are not included in the FT50 journal list, see Ranta et al. (2022) in European Accounting Review
(ABDC A*), Moll and Yigitbasioglu (2019) in the British Accounting Review (ABDC A*), and a few in
Meditari Accountancy Research, Accounting Horizons, and Accounting Education (all ABDC A). In
addition, studies of AI and accounting are more often seen in specialized journals, which suit the
scope of the journals. We found 10 studies in Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting and 4
in Journal of Applied Accounting Research (both ABDC B).
Third, we note that a consideration portion of the articles is published in non-business
disciplines, for instance, by the publisher Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) (see
Zhang et al., 2020) or as conference proceedings. This is consistent with the interdisciplinary nature
of AI (Ng and Alarcon, 2021). However, due to the authors’ limited knowledge, assessing the quality
of these journals and conferences is currently beyond our capabilities. Hence, we encourage other
researchers to explore this literature and share their findings.
In our semi-structure literature review, the question we are keen to know is: what are the
benefits and concerns that AI brings to accounting? This question also leads to the question many
may have been wondering, that is, will human accountants be replaced by AI algorithms in the
future? These questions steer our review.

AI AND ITS CURRENT APPLICATIONS IN ACCOUNTING

Accounting researchers have adopted various definitions of AI. One common definition
specifies AI as the “intelligence that is demonstrated by software or machinery that imitates the
workings of the human mind” (Fisher et al., 2016, p. 157). Another common definition defines AI as
“a system’s ability to interpret external data correctly, to learn from such data, and use these
learnings to achieve specific goals and tasks through flexible adaptation” (Kaplan and Haenlein, 2019,
p. 17; Agustí and Orta-Pérez, 2023). Sometimes, the term AI can include theoretical advancements
in computer systems too (Petkov, 2020). Our study adopts the definition that defines AI as “a
computer program or software application that can imitate or simulate human behavior”, which is a
definition close to the first example (Ng and Alarcon, 2021, p. 1).
Under the adopted definition, AI can be divided into sub-fields including machine reasoning
(MR), machine learning (ML), natural language processing (NLP), etc. Expert systems, an early form
of AI in the 1970s and 1980s, are applications of MR that draws conclusions using stored knowledge
and automated inference techniques that imitate or simulate human decision-making. ML uses
algorithms to analyze data to perform tasks such as recognizing patterns and making predictions. It
is used by Netflix and Amazon to provide users with customized recommendations and promotions.
Siri and ChatGPT are applications of NLP technologies that focus on the interaction of computers and
people using human languages (Ng and Alarcon, 2021).
In accounting practice, accountants have utilized various applications of the above AI
technologies. For example, rules-based expert systems have been used in auditing and tax; fuzzy-
based expert systems are used to detect frauds in settled insurance claims; ML-enabled expert
systems are used for cash and account reconciliations to save manual hours in processing time (Yang
and Vasarhelyi, 1993; Pathak et al., 2005; Ng and Alarcon, 2021).
ML algorithms help Big 4 auditors to review, identify, and extract key accounting information
from sheer volumes of documents. The KPMG Contract Abstraction Tool extracts information from
lease contracts and analyzes the data for compliance with the lease standard IFRS 16 (KPMG, 2018;
Ng and Alarcon, 2021). Deloitte’s Argus analyzes documents and extracts information to identify
possible trends, risks, and anomalies in contracts (Almufadda and Almezeini, 2022). EY’s deep
learning technology, a sub-field of ML, can reconstruct documents that were poorly scanned using

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optical recognition software (Wong, 2019; Ng and Alarcon, 2021). PwC, a multiple-year winner of
the Audit Innovation of the Year award from International Accounting Bulletin, deploys a bot called
GL.ai to detect anomalies in the general ledger (Pwc, 2018; Almufadda and Almezeini, 2022).
NLP technologies have great potential in accounting. Some of the above-mentioned ML tools,
such as Deloitte’s Argus, also leverage on the NLP technology to review and extract information (Ng
and Alarcon, 2021). Moreover, Deloitte uses NLP tools to provide targeted financial advice in tax
practice (Nickerson, 2019). In addition, NLP can be used in text mining to extract meaning from
textual data and in analyzing textual documents to assess the compliance with accounting standards
and regulations (Fisher et al., 2016; Ng and Alarcon, 2021).
Overall, the growth of data acts as the main force driving the growing adoption of AI
technologies in the accounting field, especially in auditing. Researchers have identified areas for the
potential future applications of AI in accounting, for instance, in assurance of non-financial
information such as environmental, social and governance and cybersecurity and in regulation
(Boritz and Stratopoulos, 2023; Kommunuri, 2022).

BENEFITS AND RISKS OF AI ADOPTION

In the previous section, we discussed applications of AI technologies in accounting, especially
in auditing. Those applications benefit accountants and accounting firms by saving manual hours and
improving the efficiency and accuracy of repetitive tasks that are now automated by AI (Ng and
Alarcon, 2021). We refer to these as the productivity benefits.
Besides the productivity boost, research shows that AI improves audit quality and financial
reporting quality. Using data covering the 36 largest accounting firms in the US between 2010 and
2019, Fedyk et al. (2022) find that AI investments improve audit quality by lowering the incidence of
various restatements. More specifically, a one-standard-deviation change in accounting firms’ recent
AI investments is associated with a 5% reduction in the likelihood of an audit restatement. This effect
is present in both Big 4 and non-Big 4 firms and stronger for audits of older firms, on auditors’ new
clients, in the retail industry, and in more recent years of their sample period. Moreover, AI
investments reduce audit fees while increasing fees earned per employee. Follow-up interviews with
audit partners confirm that (1) AI is widely used in audit; (2) adoption of AI is centralized at the firm-
level (national) and top-down; (3) the primary focus of AI is better audit quality; and (4) the main
driver of audit quality is auditors’ use of AI rather than clients’ use of AI.
Anatharaman et al. (2023) investigates whether the adoption of AI in business operations
improves firms’ financial reporting quality. Using data for US public firms between 2014 and 2018,
they find that AI adoption improves accruals quality. More specifically, firms’ AI adoption lowers the
absolute value of discretionary accruals, the standard deviation and the average absolute values of
Dechow and Dichev (2002) residuals. The causality of these findings is confirmed via dynamic
analysis, fix effects analysis, and the Heckman’s (1979) approach to correct for self-selection.
Regarding the channel through which accruals quality is affected, the researchers find that AI
adoption improves the extent to which accounting estimates predict future cash flows.
With the rise of ChatGPT and large language models (LLMs) in recent years, researchers start
to explore the capabilities of LLM applications. With enhancements, ChatGPT 4 can pass major
certification exams including the CPA, CMA, CIA, and EA (Eulerich et al., 2024). Lo and Ross (2024)
explore the application of ChatGPT in financial advisory (e.g., retirement planning); Li et al. (2024)
and de Kok (2024) explore cases where ChatGPT can assist researchers and financial analysts in
analyzing corporate culture and in detecting non-answers in earnings conference calls, respectively.
Despite of all these benefits of AI technologies, human perception of AI can be different. The
tendency to discount computer-based advice more heavily than human advice when the advice is
identical is known as algorithm aversion. Commerford et al.’s (2022) experiment demonstrates
algorithm aversion in auditor judgements when auditors propose adjustments to management’s

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complex estimates. In court, jurors are more likely to render a negligence verdict when AI, rather
than human, performs an audit procedure (Cui et al., 2024).
Common risks and concerns of AI adoption in accounting include ethical considerations, such
as privacy accountability, safety, security, transparency, explainability, fairness, human control of
technology, professional responsibility, and promotion of human values (Fjeld et al., 2020; Boritz and
Stratopoulos, 2023). Due to the black-box nature of and the potential model biases in complex
algorithms, explainable AI is greatly desired by practitioners and academics (Fritz-Morgenthal et al.,
2022; Zhang et al., 2022; Boritz and Stratopoulos, 2023). There is also a two-way interaction between
human and AI. Along with the wide adoption of AI technology, human behavior is increasingly shaped
and used by technology (Boritz and Stratopoulos, 2023). For instance, in the age of AI where the
audience of financial reporting has shifted to machine readers, the publication of Loughran and
McDonald (2011) has prompted firms to reduce the use of negative words identified in the authors’
keyword list in corporate filings because the machine algorithms were largely rule-based (Cao et al.,
2024).
On the labor market outcomes, researchers have different views about whether AI adoption
would increase or decrease the number of accounting jobs (see Greenman, 2017; Almufadda and
Almezeini, 2022; Fedyk et al., 2022). The current consensus among practitioners and academics is
accountants with AI will replace accountants (Boritz and Stratopoulos, 2023). Professor Ray Ball
expressed a similar view that AI will increase the role of accounting and add more capacity to
accountants (Andon, 2023). Hence, AI may help the profession fix the pipeline issue facing hiring
managers who are reportedly struggling to find accounting talents (Boritz and Stratopoulos, 2023).

IMPLICATIONS OF AI ADOPTION TO THE FUTURE OF ACCOUNTING FIELD AND EDUCATIONAL

PRACTICES
In recent years, the rapid advancement and adoption of artificial intelligence have ushered in
transformative changes across industries, and the field of accounting is no exception. As AI
technologies continue to evolve and permeate various aspects of accounting practices, it is
imperative to consider the profound implications this adoption holds for the future of the accounting
profession and educational practices.

Redefining the role of accountants

With the emergence of AI in business practices, the role of accountants is undergoing a
significant transformation. Traditionally, accountants were primarily responsible for tasks such as
bookkeeping, data entry, and financial reporting, which involved repetitive and manual processes
(Walker, 2016). However, as AI technologies are increasingly integrated into accounting systems,
these routine tasks are becoming automated, freeing up accountants' time for more strategic and
analytical work (Khaled Alkoheji & Al Sartawi, 2022).
Redefining the role of accountants entails shifting their focus from mundane data processing
tasks to higher-value-added activities such as data analysis, interpretation, and strategic decision-
making (Ferreira & Pedrosa, 2024). AI enables accountants to leverage advanced analytics and
predictive modelling techniques to extract actionable insights from vast amounts of financial data.
This evolution in the role of accountants positions them as strategic advisors who contribute to
business growth and performance optimization through data-driven recommendations and
proactive financial management.
Moreover, as AI systems become more sophisticated, accountants are expected to collaborate
closely with data scientists, IT professionals, and business leaders to harness the full potential of AI-
driven technologies. This collaborative approach emphasizes the importance of interdisciplinary
skills and a deep understanding of both financial principles and technological advancements in
shaping the future role of accountants.

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Table 1. The Roles of Accountants Before and After the Emergence of AI

Role aspects Before the emergence of AI After the emergence of AI

Focus Manual data entry, bookkeeping, Strategic and analytical tasks.
financial reporting.
Responsibilities Ensuring compliance with accounting Automating routine tasks, data
standards, conducting audits, analysis, pattern recognition,
preparing financial statements. predictive modelling, communicating
with key stakeholders.
Tools used Spreadsheet software, manual AI-powered tools and algorithms.
calculations.
Decision- Relied on historical data, intuition. Utilize predictive analytics and
making scenario analysis.
Collaboration Limited collaboration with other Collaborate closely with data
professionals. scientists, IT professionals, and
business leaders.
Skill set Financial expertise, basic computer Financial expertise, proficiency in data
required skills. analytics, technology and critical
thinking, interpersonal and
communication skills.
Contribution to Provided retrospective insights into Offer proactive strategic advice,
business past financial performance. support strategic decision-making
processes.

Incorporating AI related topics to accounting curriculum

The idea of incorporating AI into accounting curriculum is not a recent development. As far
back as 1995, Baldwin-Morgan proposed the idea of incorporating AI into the accounting curriculum.
The intention behind this proposal was to ensure that students were equipped with knowledge about
AI technologies before encountering them in professional settings (Baldwin-Morgan, 1995). Given
the widespread adoption of AI across various industries today, it has become imperative to integrate
AI seamlessly into accounting education.
The extant to incorporate AI into the accounting curriculum is well documented in the
literature. Different scholars advocate different approaches to incorporating AI into the accounting
curriculum, namely (i) integrating AI into existing courses, (ii) creating standalone courses dedicated
to AI, (iii) hybrid approach. The first approach, AI related concepts and practices are incorporated
into the traditional accounting subjects, allowing students to learn about AI in the context of their
broader accounting courses. For example, Qasim and Kharbat (2020) suggest the addition of a
foundational course in business technologies into the accounting curriculum, which includes topics
such as data analytics and application of AI in accounting practices. Integrating AI into the accounting
curriculum can also be done through adding introductory course in technology (Kotb et al., 2013).
The second approach involves developing independent courses dedicated exclusively to
emerging technologies like data analytics and AI utilization (Tapis & Priya, 2020). These courses offer
students targeted instruction and practical engagement with AI applications pertinent to accounting.
For example, offering standalone courses focusing on data analytics (Clayton & Clapton, 2019).
The third approach is a hybrid model that integrates standalone courses with integrative
methods. One benefit of the hybrid approach is that it does not require the incorporation of
additional credit hours into the overall accounting curriculum (Dzuranin et al., 2018).

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Table 2. Pros and Cons of Various Approaches to Integrating AI into Accounting Education
Integrating AI into existing curriculum
Pros Cons
Contextualization Integration challenges
Providing students with a contextual Requiring significant curriculum redesign and
understanding of AI within the broader context faculty training.
of accounting.
Efficiency Depth of coverage
Minimizing the need for additional resources Limiting the depth of coverage on AI, potentially
for course development. overlooking more advanced AI concepts and
applications.
Integrative learning
Facilitating a more integrative understanding of
the intersection between AI and accounting.
Creating standalone AI courses
Pros Cons
Focused instruction Resource intensive
Providing focused instruction allowing students Requiring additional resources, including
to develop specialized skills in AI relevant to the faculty expertise, course development time and
accounting profession. infrastructure.
Comprehensive coverage Curriculum fragmentation
Providing students with a comprehensive Standalone courses may lead to fragmentation
understanding of AI concepts and applications. of the accounting curriculum
Hybrid approach
Pros Cons
Flexibility Complexity
Combine the strength of both integrative and Designing hybrid curriculum requires careful
standalone approaches planning and coordination, including faculty
training.

Resource efficiency Potential for duplication

Leveraging existing infrastructure and courses Overlapping between standalone and
integrated content.
Nonetheless, we contend that every method of integrating AI into the accounting curriculum
comes with its distinct advantages and drawbacks. Educators and academic institutions ought to
exhibit flexibility when crafting programs tailored to meet the requirements of their students and
the changing landscape of the profession. Below, we present a matrix outlining the benefits and
drawbacks of each approach.

The development of interdisciplinary skills

The integration of AI into the accounting sector introduces substantial shifts in both the nature
of accountants' work and the skill set demanded of them. A notable outcome of AI adoption is the
development of interdisciplinary skills among accountants. Historically, accountants have
concentrated largely on financial and numerical proficiencies. However, with AI now assuming
routine duties such as data entry and reconciliation, accountants must diversify their skill set to
maintain relevance in a profession that is swiftly evolving. With AI transforming accountant roles, it
also drives the demand for interdisciplinary skills.
The call for interdisciplinary skills is reinforced by accreditation standards like AACSB, which
advocate for a comprehensive curriculum integrating statistics, data management, analytics, and big
data tools (Marques, 2023). Employers, including the Big 4 accounting firms (PwC, EY, Deloitte,

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KPMG), are also driving the demand for interdisciplinary skills. They seek candidates proficient in
identifying data trends, data mining, statistical modeling, data analysis, and effective verbal and
written communications.
PwC emphasizes the necessity of integrating analytical components into accounting curricula
to enhance foundational accounting skills (PwC, 2015). Their report suggests implementing courses
like statistical analysis, computational analytics, and a data analytics practicum to equip students
with essential new skills (PwC, 2015). Additionally, PwC underscores the importance of developing
leaders who possess not only technical proficiency but also comprehensive leadership abilities.
EY has developed a model outlining the essential talents their professionals should possess,
emphasizing proficiency in data analysis using statistical and quantitative methods, creating
explanatory and predictive models, and making decisions based on factual evidence (EY, 2015). This
framework underscores EY's commitment to equipping their workforce with advanced analytical
skills necessary for effective problem-solving and decision-making in business contexts.
Deloitte has also enhanced its auditing processes by incorporating advanced analytics
capabilities. This transformation enables audit professionals to conduct data mining on large
datasets and deliver detailed insights. As a result, auditors now require enhanced data analytic skills
to enhance audit quality and decision-making (Deloitte, 2019). Deloitte emphasizes (i) technical skills,
which include design thinking, visualization and storytelling, and (ii) general skills such as critical
thinking, collaboration and communication (Deloitte, 2015).
In response to the advancing capabilities of AI, KPMG has also strategically integrated analytics
into their business operations. This integration spans critical areas such as Big Data utilization,
business intelligence strategies, enterprise analytics frameworks, and efficient information
management practices (KPMG, 2016). By leveraging these analytics-driven approaches, KPMG aims
to enhance decision-making processes, optimize operational efficiencies, and unlock valuable
insights from vast amounts of data. This initiative not only aligns with the evolving landscape of AI
technologies but also underscores KPMG's commitment to staying at the forefront of innovation in
the digital era.
Table 3 provides a summary of the interdisciplinary skill set required in response to the
increasing adoption of AI. It delineates the diverse range of skills essential for professionals to
effectively navigate and capitalize on the opportunities presented by AI technologies.

Table 3. Interdisciplinary Accounting Skills

Category Skills
Technical Budgeting, tax planning, financial analysis, auditing techniques,
managerial accounting.
Analytical and quantitative Big data, business intelligence tools, information management,
machine learning, explanatory and predictive analytics, data
visualization techniques, statistical analysis.
Information technology and Microsoft office suite, XBRL reporting, enterprise resource
computing planning (ERP), programming language (R, Python, Java),
database management (Access, SQL), statistical software (R-
Studio, SPSS).
Complementary and general Leadership skills including emotional and social skills, fact-based
management practices, proficient communication skills,
collaborative teamwork, ethical decision making, and critical
thinking.

CONCLUSION
The widespread adoption of AI in accounting carries several implications for the future of the
profession. Firstly, it is expected to redefine the role of accountants from mere number crunchers

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to strategic advisors. With routine tasks automated, accountants can focus more on analyzing
complex financial data, identifying trends, and providing valuable insights to support decision-making
processes. This shift toward higher-value-added services emphasizes the importance of developing
advanced analytical and critical thinking skills among accounting professionals.
The potential integration of AI also has profound implications for accounting education.
Traditional accounting curricula must evolve to incorporate AI-related topics such as data analytics,
machine learning, and AI-driven decision support systems. Future accountants need to acquire not
only technical proficiency in using AI tools but also a deeper understanding of their implications for
business operations and financial reporting.
Furthermore, accounting education should emphasize the development of interdisciplinary
skills. As AI blurs the boundaries between accounting, data science, and technology, accountants of
the future must possess a holistic skill set that encompasses quantitative analysis, programming, and
business acumen. Collaborative projects and interdisciplinary courses can help students cultivate
these skills and prepare them for the dynamic nature of the modern accounting profession.
Our study has the following limitations. First, while our literature review summarizes some of
the most recent and pertinent research on AI in accounting, we do not provide critical evaluation of
the research method and alternative explanations to the empirical findings in these studies. Second,
we omit studies published in non-business disciplines due to our limited knowledge in these areas.
Third, our analysis predominantly focuses on the potential benefits of AI integration in accounting,
potentially underrepresenting the risks associated with its adoption. Moreover, the rapid
technological advancements in AI applications may render our findings obsolete swiftly. As AI
evolves, new opportunities and challenges will arise, necessitating ongoing research and
reevaluation in this field. Finally, our study predominantly relies on theoretical frameworks and
secondary data, which might not fully encompass the practical realities and subtle impacts of AI on
accounting practices.

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