AI accounting’s generation gap: Seniors plug in, juniors log off
AI accounting’s generation gap: Seniors plug in, juniors log off
A new study has revealed a role reversal in artificial-intelligence adoption, with senior accountants using the tech more readily than their younger colleagues in larger firms. Do the figures flag where new technology is making an impact, or highlight a gap between expectation and reality?
While one might expect younger, more tech-savvy accountants to lead the way towards a brave new world of artificial intelligence (AI) in the profession, new research from Silverfin has shown the opposite, finding that senior accountants in larger firms are embracing the tech more readily.
The All Accounted For Report states that across many use cases, AI is more deeply embraced by successively older accountants. For example, just 16% of 18- to 24-year-olds use AI for client insights and reporting, while among those aged 55+, it’s 50%.
The survey, which polled 350 respondents from 210 large firms (turnover £50m–£1bn) and 140 medium-sized firms (turnover £1m– £50m), also found that the trend continued for compliance tasks, with 39% of younger accountants using AI versus 71% of their older counterparts.
While the figures are a small sample size, they raise questions about where AI currently sits in the accounting workflow, and the impact the new technology is actually having in firms. They also stand in stark contrast to those reported in a general study from Deloitte, which found that 62% of 16- to 34-year-olds have actively used AI, compared to only 14% of 55- to 75-year-olds.
Speaking on the recent No Accounting for Tech podcast, Silverfin CEO Lisa Miles-Heal gave her thoughts on the research to AccountingWEB.
“The survey is talking to a broad range of folk,” said Miles-Heal. “It may be that some firms have actually restricted the use of AI to only the most senior folk in the firms where they think they’ve got enough maturity to understand the kind of compliance and risk aspects of client data and other kinds of ways to make sure that AI is being used safely. I have heard some stories where access has been restricted in some firms.”
She added that with accounting seniors or partners often the last person in the pyramid of information about client businesses, having the ability to quickly process large volumes and glean insight, or pick up opportunities from information that less experienced staff may miss.
“If you’re a junior and you’re doing more transactional-type activities at the foundation of the pyramid, you may not be seeing how AI can actually help you that much,” said Miles-Heal. “Or you haven’t learned the job to start off with, how would you know that the AI was supporting you in the right way?”
Trust and expectation
Commenting on the figures, head of data analytics and tech at the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW), Ian Pay stated that what appears to be a simple question with a simple answer is actually much more complex and multi-layered.
“I think it depends how the question was framed,” said Pay. “Are junior accountants generally the ones delivering reports and insights, or are they too busy passing exams and doing the legwork (that AI probably should be helping them with)? The percentage could be low because it’s just not the work that they’re doing.
“One suspects there is also a trust and expectation issue. Do junior staff feel ‘permitted’ to use AI? Has their firm laid out a clear policy on the use of AI that gives them the confidence to use it when they need to? ICAEW research suggests most firms haven’t done that yet. So if they’re told to ‘compile some insights’ or ‘draft a report’, perhaps they feel like using AI would be cheating somehow? Do they feel a need to prove their own capabilities?”
AI expectation vs reality?
But could another explanation for the finding be that younger accountants are more aware of the limitations of the current AI toolset?
Much as the older generation finds themselves confounded with AI-generated images on Facebook (YouTube link – there may be ads), executives and senior management may be on the wrong side of the expectation gap between AI expectation and reality.
An Upwork study of 2,500 global workers released in July 2024 found that 96% of C-suite leaders surveyed expect AI to boost worker productivity, but 77% of employees reported that AI had actually increased their workload.
While executives salivated over expected productivity gains and increased margins, employees reported spending more time reviewing or moderating AI-generated content (39%), investing more time learning how to use these tools (23%), and being asked to do more work as a direct result of AI (21%).
Nearly half (47%) of employees using AI told researchers they have no idea how to achieve the productivity gains their employers expect, and 40% felt their company was asking too much of them when it came to AI.
This article is sourced from the following link:
