PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) expects its newest accountants to be performing manager-level work just three years into their careers, as artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly takes over routine auditing tasks.
According to Jenn Kosar, PwC’s AI assurance leader, the changes will be visible almost immediately.
“Three years from now, we will feel like the first years are functioning more like fourth years,” she told Business Insider.
Fresh recruits will skip many of the manual tasks once considered essential for learning the ropes. Instead, they will supervise AI systems that now handle data collection and processing, work traditionally done by entry-level staff.
The shift has prompted PwC to overhaul its training approach. Rather than spending years on basic audit work, junior employees are now being taught core audit principles, critical thinking, and professional skills right from the start.
The AI revolution is also changing the work of managers and partners, who increasingly face client demands for full automation of certain processes.
Kosar noted that hourly billing models are being questioned as clients balk at paying premium rates for work AI can perform instantly.
Former PwC UK partner Alan Paton has also pointed out that automation prompts clients to reconsider fees when results arrive “instantaneously from a tool.”
Balancing efficiency with professional growth
While concerns remain about AI reducing jobs or weakening critical thinking, Kosar believes the opposite will happen.
She argues that automation will speed up professional development, and lead to “better-informed professionals who develop faster.”