Accountants and Auditors
Also called: Accountant, Auditor, CPA (Certified Public Accountant), Internal AuditorExamine, analyze, and interpret accounting records to prepare financial statements, give advice, or audit and evaluate statements prepared by others. Install or advise on systems of recording costs or other financial and budgetary data.
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What the data says: AI could halve the time on 26 of its 30 tasks, yet jobs are projected to grow 5.0% by 2035. In the most exposed occupations, the squeeze shows up first among early-career workers. How to think about this →
About this projection
BLS builds AI into its projections where the research supports it: “BLS generally applies adjustments based on this research conservatively, where there is convincing evidence for a change.”
It also notes a limit: “BLS projection methods are not designed to capture extremely rapid technological change.”
On its AI exposure groups, BLS says exposure “does not imply job loss.”
Recent conditions
- In 2024, 2.1% of people in this work were unemployed, against 3.8% across all occupations Census ACS 2024
- From Sep 2025 to Aug 2026, 7.9 hires for every 10 job openings in professional and business services, which employs about 45% of people in this work, against 7.3 across all industries BLS JOLTS
One box per opening, filled for each hire; hires beyond the openings are added in a lighter shade. Higher can mean openings get filled, or that people leave often; lower, that jobs go unfilled, or hiring is slow.7.9 this industry7.3 all industries
Median pay by state BLS OEWS May 2025, state estimates
Tap a state for its figures.
Median pay in every state
| State | Median | Middle half earn | Jobs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $74,880 | $60,840 to $95,870 | 24,300 |
| Alaska | $83,460 | $72,230 to $102,460 | 2,190 |
| Arizona | $79,970 | $64,990 to $103,640 | 27,410 |
| Arkansas | $66,330 | $52,570 to $88,950 | 7,870 |
| California | $97,050 | $75,810 to $125,850 | 175,360 |
| Colorado | $97,030 | $74,900 to $127,270 | 35,410 |
| Connecticut | $97,550 | $78,020 to $123,670 | 16,770 |
| Delaware | $95,020 | $74,270 to $120,450 | 6,570 |
| District of Columbia | $111,530 | $83,050 to $156,730 | 9,810 |
| Florida | $79,250 | $62,730 to $103,140 | 91,000 |
| Georgia | $81,900 | $64,830 to $109,110 | 44,020 |
| Guam | $50,410 | $43,220 to $63,630 | 610 |
| Hawaii | $74,500 | $60,710 to $92,870 | 4,670 |
| Idaho | $74,730 | $61,150 to $93,400 | 5,570 |
| Illinois | $80,230 | $66,290 to $102,270 | 54,930 |
| Indiana | $77,720 | $62,370 to $100,120 | 25,660 |
| Iowa | $77,440 | $62,090 to $98,150 | 13,210 |
| Kansas | $79,000 | $62,960 to $100,650 | 13,610 |
| Kentucky | $75,270 | $61,040 to $96,780 | 11,930 |
| Louisiana | $73,810 | $59,960 to $91,830 | 14,050 |
| Maine | $77,480 | $63,920 to $98,700 | 3,860 |
| Maryland | $89,370 | $73,100 to $116,420 | 26,170 |
| Massachusetts | $99,460 | $79,370 to $128,560 | 46,230 |
| Michigan | $78,820 | $63,850 to $101,030 | 41,460 |
| Minnesota | $81,600 | $68,190 to $105,020 | 30,530 |
| Mississippi | $68,100 | $57,550 to $93,640 | 7,350 |
| Missouri | $76,590 | $60,370 to $99,580 | 28,000 |
| Montana | $75,810 | $61,690 to $97,320 | 4,730 |
| Nebraska | $72,080 | $59,990 to $90,660 | 10,340 |
| Nevada | $81,600 | $68,190 to $103,640 | 6,930 |
| New Hampshire | $83,470 | $71,360 to $105,160 | 7,000 |
| New Jersey | $100,830 | $80,320 to $129,280 | 42,250 |
| New Mexico | $78,580 | $63,290 to $99,090 | 6,300 |
| New York | $102,640 | $79,760 to $134,820 | 109,830 |
| North Carolina | $82,050 | $65,120 to $108,090 | 49,270 |
| North Dakota | $75,730 | $60,960 to $95,780 | 4,430 |
| Ohio | $79,320 | $63,020 to $102,230 | 50,440 |
| Oklahoma | $79,370 | $59,990 to $104,240 | 16,720 |
| Oregon | $85,800 | $74,350 to $104,150 | 14,920 |
| Pennsylvania | $79,000 | $62,330 to $99,990 | 54,290 |
| Puerto Rico | $43,530 | $34,660 to $57,940 | 12,370 |
| Rhode Island | $95,820 | $76,400 to $120,280 | 6,570 |
| South Carolina | $76,560 | $62,100 to $99,080 | 15,270 |
| South Dakota | $78,880 | $66,970 to $97,920 | 5,820 |
| Tennessee | $76,840 | $62,430 to $94,790 | 27,340 |
| Texas | $80,920 | $65,560 to $103,760 | 116,470 |
| Utah | $79,990 | $61,910 to $104,140 | 15,490 |
| Vermont | $78,890 | $66,190 to $97,100 | 2,630 |
| Virgin Islands | $59,060 | $48,130 to $83,210 | 340 |
| Virginia | $93,290 | $74,250 to $123,510 | 47,100 |
| Washington | $96,550 | $79,180 to $122,480 | 34,740 |
| West Virginia | $73,320 | $59,260 to $91,660 | 4,900 |
| Wisconsin | $79,400 | $65,000 to $100,800 | 25,100 |
| Wyoming | $77,620 | $60,470 to $100,560 | 2,670 |
Nationally: $83,680. Shades run from the lowest state median to the highest; a territory below that range takes the lightest. How to read this
How AI touches the work
What AI could speed up, task by task, and where people already use it.
AI could halve the time on 26 of its 30 tasks
| AI rating | Its main tasks | Share of Claude conversations May 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Not much | Review accounts for discrepancies and reconcile differences. | Not published |
| AI + software | Prepare, examine, or analyze accounting records, financial statements, or other financial reports to assess accuracy, completeness, and conformance to reporting and procedural standards. | 0.01% |
| AI + software | Compute taxes owed and prepare tax returns, ensuring compliance with payment, reporting, or other tax requirements. | Not published |
| AI + software | Prepare adjusting journal entries. | 0.01% |
| AI + software | Inspect account books and accounting systems for efficiency, effectiveness, and use of accepted accounting procedures to record transactions. | Not published |
| AI + software | Review data about material assets, net worth, liabilities, capital stock, surplus, income, or expenditures. | under 0.01% |
See all 30 tasks
| AI + software | Prepare, analyze, or verify annual reports, financial statements, and other records, using accepted accounting and statistical procedures to assess financial condition and facilitate financial planning. | 0.02% |
| AI + software | Confer with company officials about financial and regulatory matters. | Not published |
| AI + software | Collect and analyze data to detect deficient controls, duplicated effort, extravagance, fraud, or non-compliance with laws, regulations, and management policies. | Not published |
| AI alone | Establish tables of accounts and assign entries to proper accounts. | under 0.01% |
| AI alone | Examine and evaluate financial and information systems, recommending controls to ensure system reliability and data integrity. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Process invoices for payment. | Not published |
| AI + software | Represent clients before taxing authorities and provide support during litigation involving financial issues. | Not published |
| AI alone | Prepare detailed reports on audit findings. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Report to management regarding the finances of establishment. | Not published |
| AI alone | Examine records and interview workers to ensure recording of transactions and compliance with laws and regulations. | Not published |
| AI + software | Develop, maintain, or analyze budgets, preparing periodic reports that compare budgeted costs to actual costs. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Evaluate taxpayer finances to determine tax liability, using knowledge of interest and discount rates, annuities, valuation of stocks and bonds, and amortization valuation of depletable assets. | Not published |
| Not much | Supervise auditing of establishments, and determine scope of investigation required. | Not published |
| AI + software | Develop, implement, modify, and document recordkeeping and accounting systems, making use of current computer technology. | Not published |
| AI + software | Review taxpayer accounts, and conduct audits on-site, by correspondence, or by summoning taxpayer to office. | Not published |
| AI + software | Direct activities of personnel engaged in filing, recording, compiling, and transmitting financial records. | Not published |
| Not much | Inspect cash on hand, notes receivable and payable, negotiable securities, and canceled checks to confirm records are accurate. | Not published |
| AI + software | Analyze business operations, trends, costs, revenues, financial commitments, and obligations to project future revenues and expenses or to provide advice. | 0.05% |
| AI + software | Advise clients in areas such as compensation, employee health care benefits, the design of accounting or data processing systems, or long-range tax or estate plans. | under 0.01% |
| Not much | Examine inventory to verify journal and ledger entries. | Not published |
| AI + software | Examine whether the organization's objectives are reflected in its management activities, and whether employees understand the objectives. | Not published |
| AI + software | Conduct pre-implementation audits to determine if systems and programs under development will work as planned. | Not published |
| AI alone | Report to management about asset utilization and audit results, and recommend changes in operations and financial activities. | under 0.01% |
| AI + software | Audit payroll and personnel records to determine unemployment insurance premiums, workers' compensation coverage, liabilities, and compliance with tax laws. | Not published |
Ordered by how important O*NET's respondents rate each task (1 to 5) times the share who say it is part of their job. The ordering is ours. 11 of the 30 have a published share of Claude conversations; “not published” means too few conversations for Anthropic to publish a figure.
Where people already use AI
The tasks above say what AI could speed up. This shows what people are using it for. Its 30 tasks fall under 20 work activities that many occupations share, and Microsoft counted how often each one came up in 200,000 conversations with its Copilot assistant in 2024.
- #49 Calculate financial data
| Work activity | This occupation's tasks under it | People asked AI for help in 10,000 conversations |
AI did it for them in 10,000 conversations |
|---|---|---|---|
| Examine financial activities, operations, or systems | |||
| Prepare financial documents, reports, or budgets | |||
| Evaluate the quality or accuracy of data | |||
| Analyze business or financial data | |||
| Advise others on business or operational matters | |||
| Communicate with others about operational plans or activities | |||
| Advise others on financial matters | |||
| Calculate financial data |
Show all 20 activities
| Evaluate programs, practices, or processes | |||
| Develop operational or technical procedures or standards | |||
| Execute financial transactions | |||
| Investigate criminal or legal matters | |||
| Advise others on legal or regulatory matters | |||
| Manage budgets or finances | |||
| Evaluate condition of financial assets, property, or other resources | |||
| Communicate with others about business strategies | |||
| Direct organizational operations, activities, or procedures | |||
| Coordinate regulatory compliance activities | |||
| Negotiate contracts or agreements | |||
| Present information in legal proceedings |
How people in this work use Claude
What people in this work made with Claude % of conversations
- Data or a spreadsheet25%
- A document or report22%
- An analysis or summary11%
- A plan or strategy7%
- An explanation or answer6%
How they worked with Claude
68% of these conversations were about work. Anthropic Economic Index, May 2026.
How to read this
Work activities come from O*NET, which links every task to the broader activities it involves. Microsoft's figures are for the activity across everyone who used Copilot, not for accountants and auditors specifically. Copilot is a general chat assistant; dedicated coding tools are not included, so programming help is under-counted here. Activities are listed by how many of this occupation's tasks fall under them.
The task ratings say whether AI could halve the time a task takes: on its own (“AI alone”), or with software built on it (“AI + software”). They were made by people in 2023 (Eloundou et al.). Claude's share is the task's share of all Claude.ai conversations in May 2026; Anthropic doesn't publish a task with too few conversations. None of these add up to the BLS exposure group, which combines five research measures.
More in the Guide: task ratings · task order · work activities · Copilot figures · Claude
High exposure doesn't mean fewer jobs
BLS projects most occupations in its two most exposed groups to grow: 141 of 206 rated Very high and 165 of 206 rated High. Each dot is one of the 831 occupations BLS rates.
Career moves into and out of this occupation
From moves between occupations found in online resumes, 2002–2016. Career changes only: a first job after school isn't a move.
Where people moved next
of 390,866 moves out
- 1 Financial Managers Very high +9.7% 18%
- 2 Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks Very high -5.6% 6%
- 3 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 6%
- 4 Management Analysts Very high +10.1% 5%
- 5 Financial Analysts (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 5%
Where people moved in from
of 376,303 moves in
- 1 Financial Managers Very high +9.7% 11%
- 2 Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks Very high -5.6% 10%
- 3 Financial Analysts (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 4 Managers, All Other (2010 group) an older group BLS has since split; no exposure group today 4%
- 5 First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers Very high +0.1% 4%
Resumes over-represent younger, white-collar job-seekers and moves into management. Schubert, Stansbury and Taska (resume data).
Education and training for the occupation
Census survey (American Community Survey)
- 3% high school
- 3% some college
- 6% associate's
- 59% bachelor's
- 27% master's
- 3% professional degree
- 1% doctorate
Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation · 18,019 people surveyed.
Median pay by highest degree full-time, year-round · Census ACS 2024, all workers in this occupation
7 programs, such as Accounting and Computer Science, Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation and Accounting.
See all
- Accounting and Computer Science
- Financial Forensics and Fraud Investigation
- Accounting
- Auditing
- Accounting and Finance
- Accounting and Business/Management
- Taxation
Jobs that require a credential BLS Occupational Requirements Survey 2023
29.4% this occupation
45.3% all occupations
| By kind | This occupation | All occupations |
|---|---|---|
| a license | 18.2% | 19.1% |
| a certification | 1.1% | 5.8% |
| an educational certificate | not published |
Share of jobs whose employer requires it. BLS doesn't say which credential. How to read this
Look up certifications, training and licenses U.S. Department of Labor
- Certification Finder ↗ certifications CareerOneStop lists for this occupation
- Training Finder ↗ schools and programs, nationwide; narrow the place there
- License Finder ↗ licenses by state
- Apprenticeship Finder ↗ DOL lists 1 registered apprenticeship in this occupation (Finance Business Partner). Apprenticeship.gov can't be linked to one occupation, so search for “Accountants and Auditors” there.
These open in a new tab and send only the occupation's public code. More in the Guide
BLS AI exposure categories (Aug 2026) · BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 · O*NET 31.0 · Task ratings: Eloundou et al., Science (2024) · Microsoft "Working with AI" v1.1 · Anthropic Economic Index (2026-06-26) · Schubert, Stansbury and Taska · NCES CIP–SOC · Census ACS 2024 · BLS JOLTS · Brynjolfsson, Chandar and Chen, Stanford (Aug 2026)
See it online, and explore any career: https://www.pathmosaic.com/card/13-2011.00