JOB REPORT / 13-2011 · 29 TASKS

Accountants and Auditors.

Can AI do the work of Accountants and Auditors?

Mostly it works alongside you. Here is what shifts, task by task.

YOUR EXPERIENCE MATTERS

How does this fit your work?

How many tasks do you use AI to assist with at work?

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The parts of your job AI can already do most of:

Develop, maintain, or analyze budgets, preparing periodic reports that…
Prepare, examine, or analyze accounting records, financial statements,…
Compute taxes owed and prepare tax returns, ensuring compliance…

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A guided certificate program in AI-assisted Accountants and Auditors work. It covers the 29 AI-affected parts of your job and ends in a capstone a person reviews.

WHAT WE LOOKED AT

Your job, task by task.

29 of 29 tasks reviewed

We went through all 29 core tasks in this job, one at a time.

Task by task, from the work Accountants and Auditors actually do. How we describe AI use in each task is our own read of it, not a measurement of whether AI can replace the job.

TASK 01
Develop, maintain, or analyze budgets, preparing periodic reports that compare budgeted costs to actual costs.
AI DOES
Pulls financial data, builds variance reports, and flags budget overruns automatically
YOU DO
Explain the story behind the numbers and recommend real business decisions
TASK 02
Prepare, examine, or analyze accounting records, financial statements, or other financial reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to reporting and procedural standards.
AI DOES
Scans records, flags mismatches, and drafts standard reports
YOU DO
Apply professional judgment and take legal responsibility for conclusions
TASK 03
Compute taxes owed and prepare tax returns, ensuring compliance with payment, reporting, or other tax requirements.
AI DOES
Fills in tax forms, checks math, flags missing info, and suggests deductions based on financial data
YOU DO
Review edge cases, apply judgment on gray-area rules, and sign off on accuracy
TASK 04
Review data about material assets, net worth, liabilities, capital stock, surplus, income, or expenditures.
AI DOES
Scans and summarizes financial data, spots anomalies, and formats reports
YOU DO
Interpret context, apply professional judgment, and take responsibility for conclusions
TASK 05
Review accounts for discrepancies and reconcile differences.
AI DOES
Scans transactions, flags mismatches, and drafts reconciliation reports
YOU DO
Judge why a difference exists and decide the right correction
TASK 06
Prepare adjusting journal entries.
AI DOES
Drafts routine accruals, deferrals, and depreciation entries from source data
YOU DO
Apply professional judgment on estimates, unusual items, and business context
TASK 07
Establish tables of accounts and assign entries to proper accounts.
AI DOES
Suggests chart of accounts templates and auto-assigns common transactions to standard account categories
YOU DO
Confirm account structure matches the real business and handle unusual or ambiguous entries
TASK 08
Prepare, analyze, or verify annual reports, financial statements, and other records, using accepted accounting and statistical procedures to assess financial condition and facilitate financial planning.
AI DOES
Drafts financial statements, spots anomalies in data, and runs ratio analyses automatically
YOU DO
Apply professional judgment, catch context-specific errors, and take legal responsibility for the final report
TASK 09
Process invoices for payment.
AI DOES
Reads invoice data, matches it to purchase orders, flags duplicates, and routes for approval
YOU DO
Review flagged exceptions and approve unusual or high-risk payments
TASK 10
Inspect account books and accounting systems for efficiency, effectiveness, and use of accepted accounting procedures to record transactions.
AI DOES
Scans transaction records, spots patterns, and flags unusual entries or rule violations
YOU DO
Apply professional judgment to decide what findings actually matter and why
TASK 11
Collect and analyze data to detect deficient controls, duplicated effort, extravagance, fraud, or non-compliance with laws, regulations, and management policies.
AI DOES
Scans transaction data for anomalies, flags duplicates, and cross-checks entries against rules automatically
YOU DO
Apply professional judgment to decide if a flag is real fraud or a valid exception, and communicate findings clearly
TASK 12
Examine and evaluate financial and information systems, recommending controls to ensure system reliability and data integrity.
AI DOES
Scans financial data, spots patterns and anomalies, and drafts control checklists
YOU DO
Apply business judgment to assess real risk and earn stakeholder trust
TASK 13
Evaluate taxpayer finances to determine tax liability, using knowledge of interest and discount rates, annuities, valuation of stocks and bonds, and amortization valuation of depletable assets.
AI DOES
Runs calculations on interest rates, annuities, depreciation, and stock/bond valuations, and surfaces relevant tax code rules
YOU DO
Own the final liability determination and apply professional judgment to complex or unusual financial situations
TASK 14
Report to management about asset utilization and audit results, and recommend changes in operations and financial activities.
AI DOES
Summarizes audit data, flags anomalies, and drafts report language
YOU DO
Own the conclusions, tailor advice to your organization's real context, and build trust with leadership
TASK 15
Audit payroll and personnel records to determine unemployment insurance premiums, workers' compensation coverage, liabilities, and compliance with tax laws.
AI DOES
Scans large payroll datasets, spots anomalies, cross-checks figures, and summarizes compliance gaps
YOU DO
Apply local tax law nuance, weigh risk context, and sign off on final audit conclusions
TASK 16
Examine records and interview workers to ensure recording of transactions and compliance with laws and regulations.
AI DOES
Scans large transaction records, flags anomalies, and checks rule compliance automatically
YOU DO
Conduct interviews and apply judgment about people, context, and intent
TASK 17
Advise clients in areas such as compensation, employee health care benefits, the design of accounting or data processing systems, or long-range tax or estate plans.
AI DOES
Researches options, models financial scenarios, and drafts advice memos
YOU DO
Listen to the client's full story and build trust through judgment and relationship
TASK 18
Report to management regarding the finances of establishment.
AI DOES
Drafts financial summaries, spots trends in data, and formats reports
YOU DO
Apply judgment about what leadership needs to hear and stand behind the numbers
TASK 19
Conduct pre-implementation audits to determine if systems and programs under development will work as planned.
AI DOES
Scans system specs, flags control gaps, and drafts audit checklists
YOU DO
Apply professional judgment to assess real-world business fit and risk
TASK 20
Review taxpayer accounts, and conduct audits on-site, by correspondence, or by summoning taxpayer to office.
AI DOES
Scans account data, spots patterns, and flags mismatches or anomalies in tax records
YOU DO
Apply legal judgment, interview taxpayers, and make final audit decisions
TASK 21
Direct activities of personnel engaged in filing, recording, compiling, and transmitting financial records.
AI DOES
Suggests task priorities, spots data errors, and drafts workflow checklists
YOU DO
Lead, motivate, and make real-time calls when team issues arise
TASK 22
Supervise auditing of establishments, and determine scope of investigation required.
AI DOES
Scans financial data, flags anomalies, and suggests risk areas to investigate
YOU DO
Apply professional judgment to set audit scope and take legal responsibility for decisions
TASK 23
Confer with company officials about financial and regulatory matters.
AI DOES
Summarizes regulations, drafts talking points, and flags compliance issues to discuss
YOU DO
Lead the conversation, read the room, and build trust with company officials
TASK 24
Examine whether the organization's objectives are reflected in its management activities, and whether employees understand the objectives.
AI DOES
Summarizes documents, flags misalignments between stated goals and reported activities, and drafts survey questions
YOU DO
Interview employees directly and judge whether understanding is genuine, not just on paper
TASK 25
Examine inventory to verify journal and ledger entries.
AI DOES
Scans ledger and journal entries to spot mismatches and unusual patterns
YOU DO
Walk the floor, count physical stock, and confirm what the numbers actually represent
TASK 26
Inspect cash on hand, notes receivable and payable, negotiable securities, and canceled checks to confirm records are accurate.
AI DOES
Cross-checks digital transaction records and flags mismatches automatically
YOU DO
Physically handle and verify cash, paper documents, and physical securities in person
TASK 27SOURCE-BACKED TASK
Develop, implement, modify, and document recordkeeping and accounting systems, making use of current computer technology.
AI DOES
Generates system designs and code documentation automatically
YOU DO
Design smart workflows that fit business needs
About this analysis
44% · Methodology: exposure-v1 · Analysis date: unavailable · Confidence: medium
TASK 28SOURCE-BACKED TASK
Prepare detailed reports on audit findings.
AI DOES
Generates draft reports from audit data
YOU DO
Judge significance and craft clear conclusions
About this analysis
43% · Methodology: exposure-v1 · Analysis date: unavailable · Confidence: medium
TASK 29SOURCE-BACKED TASK
Analyze business operations, trends, costs, revenues, financial commitments, and obligations to project future revenues and expenses or to provide advice.
AI DOES
Crunches numbers and spots patterns in financial data
YOU DO
Interpret context and make strategic calls
About this analysis
34% · Methodology: exposure-v1 · Analysis date: unavailable · Confidence: medium

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AT A GLANCE

Occupation: Accountants and Auditors
SOC code: 13-2011
Tasks reviewed: 29 of 29

How we assess

PAY & OUTLOOK

Compare pay by state

Median pay (national): $83,680 · BLS OEWS 2025
Median pay (Colorado): $97,030 · BLS OEWS 2025
Employed (national): 1,449,500
Employed in Colorado: 35,410
Job outlook: +4.6% by 2034 · ~124,200 openings/yr

Wages from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. National figures cover the United States. Job outlook is national.

How does this fit your work?

Earn a certificate in your job

Your job, task by task.

Develop, maintain, or analyze budgets, preparing periodic reports that compare budgeted costs to actual costs.

Prepare, examine, or analyze accounting records, financial statements, or other financial reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to reporting and procedural standards.

Compute taxes owed and prepare tax returns, ensuring compliance with payment, reporting, or other tax requirements.

Review data about material assets, net worth, liabilities, capital stock, surplus, income, or expenditures.

Review accounts for discrepancies and reconcile differences.

Prepare adjusting journal entries.

Establish tables of accounts and assign entries to proper accounts.

Prepare, analyze, or verify annual reports, financial statements, and other records, using accepted accounting and statistical procedures to assess financial condition and facilitate financial planning.

Process invoices for payment.

Inspect account books and accounting systems for efficiency, effectiveness, and use of accepted accounting procedures to record transactions.

Collect and analyze data to detect deficient controls, duplicated effort, extravagance, fraud, or non-compliance with laws, regulations, and management policies.

Examine and evaluate financial and information systems, recommending controls to ensure system reliability and data integrity.

Evaluate taxpayer finances to determine tax liability, using knowledge of interest and discount rates, annuities, valuation of stocks and bonds, and amortization valuation of depletable assets.

Report to management about asset utilization and audit results, and recommend changes in operations and financial activities.

Audit payroll and personnel records to determine unemployment insurance premiums, workers' compensation coverage, liabilities, and compliance with tax laws.

Examine records and interview workers to ensure recording of transactions and compliance with laws and regulations.

Advise clients in areas such as compensation, employee health care benefits, the design of accounting or data processing systems, or long-range tax or estate plans.

Report to management regarding the finances of establishment.

Conduct pre-implementation audits to determine if systems and programs under development will work as planned.

Review taxpayer accounts, and conduct audits on-site, by correspondence, or by summoning taxpayer to office.

Direct activities of personnel engaged in filing, recording, compiling, and transmitting financial records.

Supervise auditing of establishments, and determine scope of investigation required.

Confer with company officials about financial and regulatory matters.

Examine whether the organization's objectives are reflected in its management activities, and whether employees understand the objectives.

Examine inventory to verify journal and ledger entries.

Inspect cash on hand, notes receivable and payable, negotiable securities, and canceled checks to confirm records are accurate.

Develop, implement, modify, and document recordkeeping and accounting systems, making use of current computer technology.

Prepare detailed reports on audit findings.

Analyze business operations, trends, costs, revenues, financial commitments, and obligations to project future revenues and expenses or to provide advice.

Practice AI.Use your judgment.

Practice AI.
Use your judgment.