Young accountants expect AI to speed career progression

Intuit has published research suggesting young UK accountants expect AI to speed up their career progression.

The survey found that 90% of accountancy students and early-career finance professionals aged 18 to 24 believe they will be better equipped to use AI than their future managers or senior colleagues.

The findings point to a shift in how younger finance workers view the profession. Rather than seeing AI as a threat to their roles, many expect it to help them move beyond routine work more quickly and take on analytical and strategic responsibilities earlier in their careers.

Intuit surveyed 1,003 UK accountancy students and early-career finance professionals. Among them, 87% said they would be slower without AI tools, while 74% said they use AI daily or multiple times a day to learn, work and solve problems.

Almost nine in 10 respondents said conversational AI tools built into financial software would be extremely or very useful for analysing financial data, generating reports, answering questions and automating tasks. The research also showed that 81% believe AI will become an essential skill for accountants in every role.

Changing hierarchies

The results suggest younger recruits expect AI knowledge to reshape traditional workplace hierarchies. More than half, 53%, believe younger employees will frequently lead AI adoption within organisations, while 35% expect to spend more time on higher-value tasks earlier in their careers.

That view raises questions for accounting firms and finance teams about how expertise is shared. Senior staff may still hold responsibility for judgement, oversight and commercial context, but newer entrants increasingly expect to bring practical familiarity with AI tools into the workplace from the outset.

"For decades, professional experience naturally flowed from senior colleagues to junior employees. However, AI is introducing a new dynamic where graduates arrive with greater practical familiarity with these tools, while experienced professionals continue to provide the judgement, governance and commercial context that AI cannot replace. The opportunity for firms is not choosing between experience and AI fluency, but bringing both together and encouraging learning in both directions," said Ciarán Quilty, Senior Vice President of International at Intuit.

Demand for safeguards

The research also found clear caution among respondents about the use of AI at work. While most said they feel prepared to succeed in an AI-enabled workplace, many also want employers to set rules for how the technology is used.

More than three-quarters of respondents, 77%, said they are concerned about becoming overly reliant on AI. The same proportion raised concerns about accuracy and reliability, while 93% said they are concerned about maintaining data security when using AI tools.

That mix of enthusiasm and caution points to demand for training and governance as firms adopt AI more widely across finance functions. It also suggests employers may need to focus not only on deploying tools, but also on setting expectations around accountability and review.

Glenn Collins of ACCA UK said the profession will need to match growing confidence with stronger skills development.

"We endorse the idea that AI is redefining the career ladder for young accountants. ACCA's own research, Global Talent Trends 2026, shows that younger professionals are more likely to be using AI as an automatic part of their working lives. This presents an opportunity for employers to harness that confidence, while giving younger talent the support and opportunities they need to strengthen their AI capabilities. Ensuring the right skills are developed is critical. ACCA's Enabling Finance Insight research revealed a notable gap between the importance placed on future skills, particularly GenAI and predictive analytics, and current capability. Critical thinking, sceptical validation and contextual storytelling are essential to reduce automation bias, anchoring bias and deskilling risks. Ultimately, organisations need to ensure growing confidence with AI is matched by responsible use, so that new technology translates into meaningful value for businesses," he said.

Judgement still central

The study adds to a broader debate in professional services over whether AI will flatten entry-level career structures by reducing the amount of routine work traditionally handled by junior staff. In accountancy, that may mean graduates spend less time on repetitive processing and more time on interpretation, client support and decision-making earlier in their careers.

But employers and professional bodies continue to stress that AI fluency does not remove the need for experience. The central issue, they argue, is how younger workers use the tools and how firms ensure human review remains in place.

"Younger talent arrive expecting to use AI, and that confidence is a real asset. But the skill that matters most is not operating the tools. It is knowing when to rely on them and having the judgement to challenge what they produce. Technology can now do much of the repeatable work, but the professional remains accountable for every conclusion. That makes reviewing AI output a core skill, and it is one built through experience. Firms that pair new talent's fluency with technology alongside experienced colleagues' judgement will develop people who use AI well, not just often," said Cecilia van Eeden, Head of Talent Development at Moore Kingston Smith.