Rethinking The Replaceability Of Accounting Jobs: A Critical Review

  • Amelia Rizky Alamanda Accounting Department, Faculty of Economics and Business, Padjadjaran University

Keywords

Accounting Jobs, Automation, Job Replaceability, Task Redistribution, Professional Roles, Digitalization

Abstract

This study critically reviews the replaceability of accounting jobs in the context of increasing automation and digitalization. Rather than treating technological capability at the task level as direct evidence of occupational replacement, the review examines how task-level changes may be redistributed and translated into changes in accounting jobs and professional roles. A critical literature review was conducted using a bounded initial dataset of 31 Scopus-derived records. Three anchor studies were used to develop initial propositions, which were then examined through proposition-based cross-examination with additional theoretical and empirical evidence. The review produces three main findings. First, task automation does not necessarily imply occupational replacement because accounting activities may be automated, augmented, retained, or redistributed. Second, occupational survival does not automatically lead to professional upgrading; technological change may be associated with role expansion, specialization, hybridization, changing professional boundaries, or deskilling. Third, technological competency requirements differ across career stages, suggesting a distinction between current entry-level requirements and longer-term professional development. Overall, the review identifies task redistribution as an important link between technological change and changes in accounting jobs. The replaceability of accounting jobs is therefore better understood through how work is redistributed and recombined, rather than through technological capability alone.

References

Abbas, K. (2026). Management accounting and artificial intelligence: A comprehensive literature review and recommendations for future research. The British Accounting Review, 58(2), 101551. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2025.101551

Andreassen, R.-I. (2020). Digital technology and changing roles: A management accountant's dream or nightmare? Journal of Management Control, 31, 209–238. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00187-020-00303-2

Bowles, M., Ghosh, S., & Thomas, L. (2020). Future-proofing accounting professionals: Ensuring graduate employability and future readiness. Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, 11(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.21153/jtlge2020vol11no1art886

Busulwa, R., Waheduzzaman, W., Pathiranage, N., & Yii, K.-J. (2026). Digital transformation and the accounting education design dilemma: Balancing today's vs. tomorrow's digital competency requirements. Frontiers in Education, 11, 1807021. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2026.1807021

Fähndrich, J. (2023). A literature review on the impact of digitalisation on management control. Journal of Management Control, 34, 9–65. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00187-022-00349-4

Gardner, E. C., & Bryson, J. R. (2021). The dark side of the industrialisation of accountancy: Innovation, commoditization, colonization and competitiveness. Industry and Innovation, 28(1), 42–57. https://doi.org/10.1080/13662716.2020.1738915

Grant, M. J., & Booth, A. (2009). A typology of reviews: An analysis of 14 review types and associated methodologies. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 26(2), 91–108. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1471-1842.2009.00848.x

Kroon, N., Alves, M. C., & Martins, I. (2021). The impacts of emerging technologies on accountants' role and skills: Connecting to open innovation—A systematic literature review. Journal of Open Innovation: Technology, Market, and Complexity, 7(3), 163. https://doi.org/10.3390/joitmc7030163

Leitner-Hanetseder, S., Lehner, O. M., Eisl, C., & Forstenlechner, C. (2021). A profession in transition: Actors, tasks and roles in AI-based accounting. Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 22(3), 539–556. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAAR-10-2020-0201

Moll, J., & Yigitbasioglu, O. (2019). The role of internet-related technologies in shaping the work of accountants: New directions for accounting research. The British Accounting Review, 51(6), 100833. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2019.04.002

Muthaiyah, S., Phang, K., & Sembakutti, S. (2021). Bridging skill gaps and creating future ready accounting and finance graduates: An exploratory study. F1000Research, 10, 892. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.72880.1

Pargmann, J., Riebenbauer, E., Flick-Holtsch, D., & Berding, F. (2023). Digitalisation in accounting: A systematic literature review of activities and implications for competences. Empirical Research in Vocational Education and Training, 15, Article 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40461-023-00141-1

Rautiainen, A., Scapens, R. W., Järvenpää, M., Auvinen, T., & Sajasalo, P. (2024). Towards fluid role identity of management accountants: A case study of a Finnish bank. The British Accounting Review, 56(4), 101341. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2024.101341

Snyder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333–339. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2019.07.039

van Slooten, A. C. A., Dirks, P. M. G., & Firk, S. (2026). Digitalization and management accountants' role conflict and ambiguity: A double-edged sword for the profession. The British Accounting Review, 58(2), 101460. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2024.101460

Wanderley, C. de A., & Horton, K. E. (2026). Digitalization tensions in the management accounting profession: Boundary work responses and their consequences. The British Accounting Review, 58(2), 101455. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2024.101455

2026-08-05