AI adoption within the UK accountancy and bookkeeping practices is enhancing sector profitability, driving a major boost to the wider economy and reshaping hiring across the industry.
However, the new study from Xero, the Centre for Economic & Business Research (Cebr), and Censuswide shows accountancy practices are looking to hire more non-accounting professionals! Three quarters (76%) of practices said the emergence of AI has influenced their practice’s hiring strategy, with 62% of these saying their practice is hiring more non-accounting professionals.
In particular, the focus areas for new hires are now technical specialists (65%), advisory specialists (63%), those with strong communications and interpersonal skills (63%), and creatives (61%).
The study found 98% of practices reported using AI in some way to complete day-to-day tasks, with around half (47%) using AI at least once a week for an average duration of two hours and 53 minutes per day. As a result, accountants are completing these tasks in 31% less time on average, resulting in significant time savings: 18 hours and 53 minutes per week for the average practice – half the typical working week of one employee.
Reinvesting time saved on routine administration and accounting tasks into revenue-generating work is enabling increased profitability, it was suggested. Despite the tangible impact, practices recorded an average annual spend of just £1,746 on AI tools and employee training.
Stuart Miller, Director, Public Policy & Technology Research at Xero (pictured) said: “AI is driving the greatest reorganisation of human capital in the history of accounting. It will help with the industry’s talent shortage, and it will amplify human potential within practices, elevating their services to higher level advisory.”
