Think you can do your boss’s job? If you’re a junior accountant at PwC, you may soon find out.
Artificial intelligence is upending the traditional career ladder in accounting, pushing junior hires into responsibilities once reserved for seasoned staff. Within three years, PwC expects new recruits to be performing work on par with managers — not because the job market has changed, but because AI will be doing much of the repetitive, entry-level work.
“People are going to walk in the door almost instantaneously becoming reviewers and supervisors,” said Jenn Kosar, PwC’s AI assurance leader, in an interview with Business Insider.
As one of the “Big Four” accounting and consulting firms, PwC is using AI to handle tasks like data gathering and routine audit checks. That frees up junior employees to focus on higher-value work, from analyzing complex client data to making strategic recommendations.
“Three years from now, we will feel like the first years are functioning more like fourth years,” Kosar said. “We will look back and say, ‘These young people feel more like the managers of my day.’”
Back to Basics — with a Twist
This shift has forced PwC to rethink how it trains new hires. The firm is emphasizing “back to basics” skills — not in rote execution, but in reviewing and supervising AI output.
Where training once focused on teaching juniors how to do the work, the focus is now on why the work matters, and how to question it. That means more emphasis on critical thinking, negotiation, and professional skepticism — skills that used to be taught later in an accountant’s career.
Kosar noted that AI is also redefining how audits themselves are approached. “It’s a shift in how we serve clients as opposed to accelerating progression of capabilities,” she said.
‘Assurance for AI’
Kosar’s role itself reflects the industry’s changing priorities. Before becoming PwC’s head of AI assurance in July 2024, she was a partner in the firm’s digital assurance and transparency division. PwC’s “assurance for AI” service — launched just last year — helps clients ensure their AI systems are used ethically and effectively.
AI is also pressuring the Big Four’s long-standing business model. Traditionally, firms billed clients by the hour. Now, some are exploring results-based pricing as automation speeds up delivery.
Alan Paton, a former PwC UK partner and now CEO of a Google Cloud consultancy, previously told Business Insider that clients might increasingly question high consulting fees “when they can get answers instantaneously from a tool.”
Impacts Beyond Junior Roles
While AI is already reshaping entry-level positions, Kosar believes senior roles will soon feel the effects. Managers and partners are already fielding new types of client requests — not just about AI strategy, but about whether AI can fully automate certain business functions.
Kosar acknowledged fears that automation could erode critical thinking or eliminate jobs. But she sees a different outcome: “We will actually get to a better place in terms of how auditing works, how consulting works, and be able to focus on higher value insights and information.”
If PwC’s vision comes to pass, the next generation of accountants will skip the grunt work and step straight into leadership — with AI as their first subordinate.
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