The Effect of Automation On Employment Deloitte

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THE EFFECT OF AUTOMATION ON EMPLOYMENT WITHIN THE ACCOUNTING

INDUSTRY: A CASE STUDY IN DELOITTE
Research · October 2021
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THE EFFECT OF AUTOMATION ON EMPLOYMENT WITHIN THE ACCOUNTING
INDUSTRY: A CASE STUDY IN DELOITTE SAN FRANCISCO
Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the
School of Management and Leadership
In partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of
Doctor of Business Administration
By
Saeed Taha, M.A.
2021
Approved by:
Dr. Hamid Rahmani, Ph.D. Chairperson
Dr. Huiyu Qian, Ph.D.

AUTOMATION ON EMPLOYMENT ii
Dedication
I dedicate this work to my family who supported me throughout my proposal process, for
nursing me with their love and affection, and allowed me to work on timelessly to get this work
out.
AUTOMATION ON EMPLOYMENT iii
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank all my professors at Alliant who helped me from the initial day of
my doctoral course. Without their help I would not have come this far. I would like to
personally thank my chairperson Hamid Rahman for his timely support whenever needed. I also
would like to thank my committee member for Huiyu Qian the help and support throughout my
dissertation process. Most importantly, I would like to thank Richard Gardner who helped me in
statistical analysis and framing up the questionnaire. I would like to thank specially the business
school, California School of Management and Leadership and its Dean, staff, and all the
professors who were a backbone all these years. I would like to thank all the Alliant staff from
the bottom of my heart, who made this possible by supporting in every step of my education at
Alliant. Finally, my family, who supported me every second of my life in getting this prestigious
doctoral degree.
AUTOMATION ON EMPLOYMENT iv
Abstract
There are some studies that focused on the effects of automation, mainly artificial intelligence, in
the accounting field, but most are non-empirical expert opinions lacking scientific evidence.
There is a research gap on the effects of automation on human accountants’ current and future
employment in the accounting sector. Consequently, this quantitative study sought to add new
knowledge on the effects of automation on current and future employment of human
accountants. This study aimed to explore the effect of automation on employment in the
accounting of Deloitte LLP, San Francisco, California, using descriptive analysis and correlation
analysis. A total of 374 respondents completed the self-administered online questionnaire that
helped the researcher to collect and analyze data on the impacts of artificial intelligence (AI) at
the workplace. The results from the questionnaire included automation motivated employees to
learn accounting and financial software, participants were confident that they would learn the
software within the time needed or allowed, and automation increased the concern of employees’
positions being replaced by new technology in the future. The study findings will help
accounting professionals to changing dynamics at the workplace especially the increased pace of
technological advancements and adoption to automate diverse operational functions. Evidently,
practicing accountants will need to advance their technological expertise or proficiency in data
mining, robotics, and AI to sustain their employability, productivity, and effectiveness.

AUTOMATION ON EMPLOYMENT v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... ii
Acknowledgement ......................................................................................................................... iii
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... iv
List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi
CHAPTER I. Background Information ......................................................................................... 1
CHAPTER II. Literature Review.................................................................................................... 6
Technologies Employed in Accounting .............................................................................. 6
Artificial Intelligence .............................................................................................. 6
Expert Systems........................................................................................................ 7
Robots ..................................................................................................................... 8
Intelligent Agents .................................................................................................... 8
Effect of Automation on Accounting Operations ............................................................... 9
Increasing the Speed of Financial Reporting .......................................................... 9
Enhanced Accuracy of Financial Data .................................................................. 11
Processing of Contract Reviews ........................................................................... 12
Effect of Automation on Employment in Accounting Field ............................................. 13
Problem Statement ............................................................................................................ 18
CHAPTER III. Methodology ....................................................................................................... 21
Research Objective and Questions.................................................................................... 21
Hypotheses ........................................................................................................................ 22
Study Variables ................................................................................................................. 22
Research Design................................................................................................................ 22
AUTOMATION ON EMPLOYMENT vi
Target Population .............................................................................................................. 24
Sampling and Sample Size Calculation ............................................................................ 24
Demographic Characteristics ............................................................................................ 25
Data Collection ................................................................................................................. 27
Data Analysis .................................................................................................................... 28
Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 28
CHAPTER IV. Results ................................................................................................................ 30
Descriptive Analysis ......................................................................................................... 30
Correlational Analysis ...................................................................................................... 36
Summary ............................................................................................................................ 37
CHAPTER V. Discussion ............................................................................................................ 38
Interpretation of the Findings ........................................................................................... 38
Implications for Theory and Research ............................................................................. 46
Implications for Practice ................................................................................................... 47
Limitations and Recommendations................................................................................... 48
Conclusions ....................................................................................................................... 51
References ..................................................................................................................................... 54
APPENDIX A: Institutional Review Board Approval Letter ....................................................... 62
APPENDIX B: Letter of Authorization to Conduct Research at Deloitte .................................... 64
APPENDIX C: Questionnaire ...................................................................................................... 67

AUTOMATION ON EMPLOYMENT vii
List of Tables
Table 1. Frequencies and Percentages of Demographic Characteristics ..................................... 26
Table 2. Frequencies and Percentages of Rating on Extent of Use Technologies ...................... 31
Table 3. Frequencies and Percentages of Agreement to Statements on Use of Techologies ....... 33
Table 4. Spearman’s Correlation Analysis................................................................................... 36

AUTOMATION ON EMPLOYMENT 1
CHAPTER I
Background Information
Humans are at the brim of the Fourth Industrial Revolution in which innovative
applications like data science, robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), Internet-of-Things, and
quantum computing will support such advanced technologies as self-driving automobiles, social
robots, desktop manufacturing, three-dimensional (3D) printing, and virtual assistants
(Vermeulen, Kesselhut, Pyka, & Saviotti, 2018; Schwab, 2017). The swift development of
robotics has sparked severe debates among labor economists, scholars, and employees on its
impacts on productivity, especially on the probability of technology to replace human labor.
Empirical findings are positing that the speed at which the launch of productivity enhancing
innovations ruins occupations might surpass the stride at which people can identify new
opportunities for those losing their jobs.
For instance, scholars in Oxford assessed the effect of technology on the U.S. labor
market. They found that a significant set of nonroutine jobs were likely to be automated sooner
than anticipated (Frey & Osborne, 2017). These authors argued that in the initial wave of
innovation, many individuals working as office administrators, alongside with the employees in
the logistics and transportation sectors, are at risk of being replaced by digital applications. In
addition, the industries most endangered by innovation in the next 10 to 20 years hire
approximately 50% of the U.S. population. Brynjolfsson and Mcafee (2011) attributed the end-
of-work assertion to the fast changes in the workforce owing to the adoption of technology in
nearly every industry. This is exemplified by the displacement of bank tellers and check-in flight
assistants by automated teller machines (ATMs) and automated kiosks in the airport,
respectively. Brynjolfsson and Mcafee’s (2011) argument was in line with Frey and Osborne's
(2013) task model predictions which suggested that the current evolutions in machine learning
will decline cumulative demand for human workforce input in jobs that can be routinized by way
of pattern recognition while creating the market for labor performing tasks that are not
vulnerable to automation.
On the contrary, there is a substantial body of empirical research that contends that even
though technology undeniably will substitute the human workforce, the innovative
transformation also engenders market for labor (Matuzeviciute, et al., 2017; Piva & Vivarelli,
2017; Vivarelli, 2014). Vivarelli (2014) analyzed experimental and theoretical works on the
qualitative and quantitative employment influence of computerization and reported that with
regards to measurable effects, product innovation tends to be labor-friendly. In contrast, process
automation exhibits a labor-saving nature. Similar findings were posted in Piva and Vivarelli's
(2017) survey. They suggested that robotics cause indirect effects on employment prospects.
For instance, together with the labor-saving bearing, process inventions entail reducing costs and
escalating incomes, which subsequently augment the growth in market and productivity that can
pay back the earlier losses of employment. The authors, however, warn that the identified
reimbursement mechanisms can be impeded by the presence of severe shortcomings, and their
effectiveness is reliant on fundamental aspects within socioeconomic and organizational
contexts.
Matuzeviciute et al. (2017) assessed a panel of data from twenty-five European
economies to establish the correlation between redundancy and technological inventions, while
considering the latter as a primary determinant of sustainable economic growth and productivity.
Unexpectedly, the outcomes of the regression exhibited no significant effect of computerization
on unemployment. The authors attributed the lack of association to the measurement limitations
that aggregate redundancy rate may be a rather general antecedent to capture influences of
automation. Autor and Salomins (2018) report comparable findings citing that although
technological advances are vastly employment-boosting in the total, it has negative effects on the
workforce’s share of value-addition where straightforward work-substitution outcomes are
dominant.
The accounting and auditing industries in the United States and other countries have not
been left behind by the effects of computerization processes. Tasks in the accounting sector
encompass a broad array of unstructured, semi structured, and structured choices; whereas the
core of assurance and auditing entails the less-structured judgments and evaluation that comprise
many improbabilities, resulting from threats and absence of information (Trinkle & Baldwin,
2006). Existing pieces of literature show that the advances in information technology (IT) have
changed the conservative and slow-paced sector into a vibrant and fast-paced one following the
evolution of knowledge-sharing and audit software applications (Banker et al., 2008). These
authors interviewed accounting experts of international public accounting companies to establish
the long-term effects of IT on their performances at workgroup, business, process, and individual
user levels. The results exhibited a significant improvement in productivity after the espousal of
IT, particularly in the swiftness of generating financial statements and enhanced revenue
generation.
The substantial enhancement in the latter offers reinforcement for the eminence of audit
computerizations, which were found to decline the time for preparing working papers. In
contrast, the automated presentation of financial information facilitates the faster and informed
decision-making process for human resource managers, accountants, audit professionals,
economists, and all shareholders of a company (Vivarelli, 2014). Other investigations have
shown that innovative applications, such as machine learning, have improved the effectiveness
and efficiency of both accountants and auditors by slashing the amount of time required to
analyze voluminous data or several files to prepare comprehensive auditing or financial reports
(Ovaska-Few, 2017). For example, an auditor’s routine tasks include locating errors or
discrepancies within the financial records of a company by reviewing hundreds and thousands of
financial documents. Such a job is time-consuming, taxing, and may require a large number of
trained employees, especially for large organizations (Borzykowski, 2018). Besides, the
assessors can make errors, overlook patterns, and miscalculate figures due to tiredness attributed
to the heavy workload that is often needed to be completed within a short time to mitigate
overhead expenses.
McKenzie (2018) explained that the use of technology can quickly solve the difficulties
above because artificial intelligence based software can swiftly scan through the same amount of
financial information remarkably quicker than the conventional approach. Thus, AI can mainly
be employed to capture errors or anomalies, like a fuss of transactions within a specific time
frame or a credit balance in accounts payable (McKenzie, 2018). This not only guarantees the
reliability and credibility of the company’s financial data, but it also captures any indications of
fraud promptly. Moreover, the employment of AI or other innovative applications increases the
accuracy of financial statements or audit reports, because machines do not experience tiredness
or incur miscalculation errors like humans (Borzykowski, 2018; McKenzie, 2018; Ovaska-Few,
2017).
Irrespective of the advantages, some authors suggest that in the last nineteen years, the
number of employees of Wall Street has plummeted by approximately 50,000 staff members due
to the digitization of their work (Datoo & Fleisher, 2017). According to Dhar (2017), more than
two million individuals were recruited as accountants, auditors, and bookkeepers in 2015. Four
years later, these forms of information intensive occupations seem to have repelled complete
automation, as it calls for management of unstructured information stemming from real-life
transactions, requires making deductions, and interacting with people. Nevertheless, in the four
years, AI perceptive capacities have been advancing, and now, machines can analyze text,
calculations, sounds, or images in a manner that facilitates the assimilation and examination of
voluminous data at extremely high speeds with no costly flaws (Dhar, 2017). Dhar (2017)
believes that between truck drivers and professional accountants alone, nearly half-a-million
human occupations could be surrendered to automatons. Dhar’s (2017) claim raises the question
of whether the observed trend is a herald for the experiences currently encountered by
accountants and auditors in various companies and for future of other primary human
professions, the top ten of which make up more than a quarter of the employment in the United
States.
CHAPTER II
Literature Review
Technologies Employed in Accounting
In the last five decades, automation and technology have driven efficiency,
innovativeness, cost reductions, and improvements in the finance, auditing, and accounting
professions. McKenzie (2018) outlines that machines are becoming as smart as computers are,
taking over intelligent and simplified operations. In contrast, Brands and Smith (2016) explain
that the change from Excel to workflow management systems and 13-column green ledger paper
to Lotus 1-2-3 and VisiCalc has remarkably shifted the role of management bookkeepers from
processing business transactions to strategic support, data analytics, and cross-functional
business process integration. In this view, the ground for accounting computerization is
workflow automation, which is described as a set of regulation-based functions that assist a
company in accomplishing its long-term objectives (Brands & Smith, 2016). Several automation
technologies have been espoused in the field, encompassing artificial intelligence, big data
analytics, the Internet of Things (IoT), and Blockchain.
Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the business landscape, including how
financial processes are carried out, and it is projected to hijack core accounting functions owing
to the associated operational and cost efficiencies (Chukwudi et al., 2018). These authors
describe AI as the employment of computational applications to tackle tasks that conventionally
required human intervention. According to Dilek, Cakır, and Aydın (2015), AI entails providing
learning capacity and flexibility to computers that will help people in performing routine tasks,
such as identifying authorized intrusions in cyber networks, locating financial errors, or big data
analysis. Dilek and associates (2015) reported that AI has remarkable features, including
intelligent agents, computational intelligence, artificial immune, neural networks, which have
made it an integral component of the automation sector that resolves most of the problematic
tasks in computer science. Notably, the principal mechanism behind AI is to progressively run
difficult human jobs and demonstrate how processors can perform those tasks by brute force.
Shin (2018) described AI in terms of four dimensions: programming, business, research,
and intelligence. The latter facet encompasses empowering machines with the capacity to act in
human-like ways. On the other hand in the business and research, AI is considered as an
essential application and approach employed to resolve business problems efficiently. Lastly,
from the programming facet, AI entails the examination of problem-solving, symbolic
programming, and comprehensive search by the application of a multiplicity of methodologies
given that scholars believe the replication of the human mind is a fundamental determinant of AI
or machine learning (Deloitte, 2017). Various AI-oriented tools or technologies have been
identified to be applicable in accounting, including expert systems, neural networks, and robotics
(Shabbir & Anwer, 2018).
Expert Systems
Expert systems are AI-based applications with the degree of intelligence that can
substitute human proficiency in a defined scope of decision-making (Chukwudi et al., 2018;
Shabbir & Anwer, 2018). The systems comprise computer tools that replicate the thinking
capacity of a professional, and they are frequently designed with expert system shells. Expert
system shells are software programming platforms that facilitate the formulation and
development of knowledge-based or expert-based technology. As per Shabbir and Anwer
(2018), expert system software can be created for any task that entails a choice from a definable
cohort of selections, and the deliberate decision is grounded on reasonable steps. Any field
where a group or an individual has specialized expertise required by others, the field can be a
candidate area for expert systems. Thus, the expert system can be affecting the accounting
software by including the project system of auditing; however, this system is used to increase
technology in most companies in the U.S.
Robots
Robotic Process Automation (RPA) is an AI technology employed to automate business
operations and processes which are characteristically accomplished in the back-office and are
often described as routine, regulations-based, prone to flaws, time-bound, and involving big data.
This author outlines that RPA software is espoused to capture and construe available electronic
information from applications to facilitate the processing of transactions, manipulation of data,
and communication across systems. Robotic Process Automation technology performs the tasks
above by exploiting a multiplicity of skills (including data collection, collation, validation,
synthesize, and analysis of both unstructured and structured information); documentation and
presentation of data; computation and decision-making; and interacting with and helping
consumers, clients, and users by responding to their queries. Other RPA proficiencies
encompass orchestrating and managing both people and robotics-based activities; monitoring,
detecting, and providing notifications for errors; and finally, learning, expecting, and predicting
behavior and outcomes. Yudkowsky (2006) explained that robots are constructed with the
capacity to sense their surroundings in approaches that are comparable to the way people sense
their environments. RPAs utilize chemical, light, touch, pressure, task, and sonar sensors to
detect occurrences, power itself, and movement, thus enabling them to remain intelligent.
Intelligent Agents
These are described as technological applications that perform a set of activities on behalf
of a program or a user with some level of autonomy or independence (Chukwudi et al., 2018). In
the contemporary business environment, intelligent agents are among the significant solution
software that addresses challenges relating to data overload resulting from the creation of a
completely networked environment, as demonstrated by the case of IoT (Deloitte, 2017).
Effect of Automation on Accounting Operations
Increasing the Speed of Financial Reporting
Empirical evidence revealed that the automation of accounting practices enhanced the
speed of financial reporting. Lombardo (2014) observed that the technical effect of a process lies
in its connectivity, intelligence, versatility, and complexity instead of its energy trust. Ghasemi,
Shafeiepour, Aslani, and Barvayeh (2011) conducted a review of existing literature to investigate
the influence of information technology on accounting practices. The authors noted that IT-
based applications enable organizations to develop financial reports faster, thus facilitating
prompt decision making. Ghasemi et al. (2011) also reported that a significant number of small-
sized and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as leading corporations across the globe,
depend on AI for a competitive edge. Similarly, the Financial Stability Board's (2017) report
showed that companies operating in both the private and public sectors employ AI for data
quality evaluation, market surveillance, regulatory compliance, and fraud detection.
In accounting, operations and processes have moved away from paper ledgers and
journals to technology-based formats following the invention of processors; a shift that has
driven AI to carry out self-diagnosis, self-healing, self-tuning, self-configuration, and self-
management to accomplish optimal performance various financial functions (Brands & Smith,
2016). Chukwudi et al. (2018) surveyed N = 185 managers and accountants in Nigeria to
explore the effect of AI on the performance of operations in accounting companies. The authors
used structured questionnaires to collect data and employed linear regression to test the
hypothesis that expert systems had significant effects on the performance of accounting
functions. The outcomes revealed that the emergence of accounting software and the integration
of AI have altered accounting technologies by enhancing flexibility, heightening both speed and
accuracy of generating financial data, and improving internal and external reporting.
Chandi (2017) commented that numerous accounting corporations that have implemented
AI to streamline their operations and have already observed positive outcomes, including the
delivery of accurate data, increased productivity, cost reduction, and timesaving. Chandi (2017)
reported that the espousal of AI and bots have substantially enhanced administrative procedures
and compliance with accounting regulations. He also illustrated that bots are currently
determining and categorizing all financial data into different accounts on their own, implying
that AI is already generating stellar performances in the accounting field without the necessity
for human intervention. For example, bots can distinguish and classify information originating
from a single source, like purchased and subscription phone bills, and create the appropriate
account charts (Chandi, 2017). Besides, the bots can acquire intelligence from numerous
people’s feedbacks, making informed decisions, and adjusting with accounting expert’s
behavioral patterns.
An investigation by Smith and Anderson (2014) considered the espousal of the expert
system to be more valuable to accountants than the possibility of technological substitution.
Notably, Technological Tippin utilized data from to explore the major technology-steered
enterprises and the associated social transformations (World Economic Forum, 2015). The latter
provided a picture of projections from more than 800 experts and executives from the
information communication and technology (ICT) industry. The surveyed respondents
suggested that major shifts, particularly the adoption of AI applications, are expected to speed up
white-collar jobs encompassing accounting operations. Smith and Anderson (2014) also
indicated that, unlike the past, when organizations based their decisions on outdated information,
the adoption of expert systems would enable the accessibility and analysis of real-time data. As
a result, AI will allow the company to make up-to-date decisions, understand the present
financial status of the company, identify recent business trends, and predict daily weekly,
monthly, or even annual performance of the firm.
Enhanced Accuracy of Financial Data
Existing pieces of the literature suggested that the failure to employ AI systems in
contemporary businesses increases the likelihood of processing inaccurate financial data, which
negatively affects the reliability, confidentiality, and accuracy of information. Deloitte (2017)
carried out a large survey involving more than N = 3,000 C-level executives of financial service
firms across Europe, the Middle-East, and Africa (EMEA) and explored the present and future
vision of the financial service industry with regards to AI technologies. Deloitte (2017) found
that transformations and progress in the expert system are escalating at a remarkable rate. The
most current development of AI resulted in the invention of robotics-based accounting software
and an enhanced expert system, which have drastically changed business environments as well as
how operations are conducted (Deloitte, 2017). The espousal of expert systems in the facilitation
of training and accounting education, because a significant number of emerging blueprints, are
intended for instructing accountants on diverse aspects (O'Leary, 2003). A report by Davenport
(2016) is of the view that a bookkeeper, whose obligation was to cross-examine credit and debit
entries. Bookkeepers will probably lose their jobs following the invention of cognitive and
analytic techniques used in auditing. Nevertheless, the technology will create room for an expert
with the ability to comprehend, monitor, and enhance analytical processes. Chukwudi et al.
(2018) argued that the employment of expert systems in bookkeeping could be categorized as
management accounting, personal financial planning, financial accounting, auditing, and
taxation. Yang and Vasarhelyi (2009) performed an integrative review of the literature and
examined the influence of expert systems on accounting functions. The authors found that
technology integrates the intelligence of multiple people or a single individual. Technology is
able to aid accountants, to enhance the quality of their service in internal control assessment
audit planning, and detection of audit risk. Expert systems have been cleared as the best AI-
based software that facilitates the processing and authorization of financial claims (Luo et al.,
2018). The adoption of AI can overcome the drawbacks of inefficiency and low added value in
the financial reporting sector, thereby, make accountants shift to more inventive activities that
heighten the companies value (Chukwudi et al., 2018; Luo et al., 2018; Yang & Vasarhelyi,
2009).
Processing of Contract Reviews
In auditing, machine learning can be employed in performing contract appraisal as it
enables accountants to analyze a significantly large number of contracts like tenancies, within a
substantially abridged length of time compared to conventional labor-intensive appraisal (Boillet,
2018). As per this author, AI tools are capable of precisely abstracting data from tenancy
contracts using preset benchmarks, and in a vast majority of cases, at an increased level of
accuracy compared to human reviewers. Aslan (2019) explained that legal and contract forms
can be extremely lengthy and complicated. In this case, a reputable agreement review procedure
guarantees that the involved parties are safeguarded, and the objective of the contract is within
legal precincts and well-understood by all parties. Traditionally, accounting experts and legal
teams evaluate the documents above, proffer insights, and make appropriate suggestions for
changes. This conventional approach, however, is limited by various elements, including human
inaccuracy and massive scale of work, that impede consistency, dependability, and rapidity of
results. Aslan (2019) indicated that the use of AI can address the challenges above because
applications, such as machine learning, natural language processing (NLP), and document
clustering, improve contract analysis and appraisal engendering significant value and profits for
companies that are ready to espouse the irrevocable speed proffered by AI.
Effect of Automation on Employment in Accounting Field
While some scholars perceive automation as a probable mechanism of replacing
employment opportunities, particularly in routine intensive professions, others consider it as a
methodology of improving the quality of services delivered by experts (Frey & Osborne, 2017).
Charles, Hurst, and Notowidigdo (2019) utilized data from the local labor department to
determine the extent to which housing booms and manufacturing decline contributed to shifts in
redundancy in the 2000s. The authors argued that the proportion of the working population in
the U.S. had declined drastically since the 2007 business cycle. For instance, between 2007-
2011, redundancy rates for individuals aged between 22-54 with college degrees increased by
3.5% and escalated by 8% for men within the same age bracket lacking postsecondary education.
Various factors have been attributed to the massive job losses, including policy uncertainty, de-
leveraging allied to declining housing prices, unemployment benefits expansion, spatial and
industry mismatch, and the extension of government transfer initiatives (Charles et al., 2019;
Kolesnikova, 2014; Mian & Sufi, 2009).

Nonetheless, redundancy rates were escalating eight years before the 2008 economic
recession. Jaimovich and Siu (2012) and Charles et al. (2019) highlighted that the enduring drop
in manufacturing job opportunities and the fading of usual employment was accredited to
automation. Autor, Levy, and Murnane (2003) investigated how computerization changes
professional skills demand. The authors reported a structural change in the labor market, with
employees restructuring their skill supply from middle-income to low-income service careers
(Autor & Dorn, 2013; Autor et al., 2003; Goos & Manning, 2003). This is possibly due to the
manual nature of service jobs, which are less vulnerable to automation, as they need an increased
degree of environmental adaptability and flexibility.
Other scholars evaluated the risk of job losses prompted by computerization in Japan.
David (2017) reviewed existing empirical studies to assess the susceptibility of employment
from a technological perspective by considering employment disparity. David (2017) suggested
that depending on artificial intelligence, more than half of occupations are likely to be taken over
by computers and software in the next five years. The researcher also showed the prospects of
labor and capital substitution; however, the subtleties will also rely on social and economic
antecedents. Similarly, Morikawa (2017) utilized data from the Survey of Life and Consumption
Under the Changing Economic Structure and Policies that involved more than N = 10,000 to
assess the influence of robotics and AI on employment. The researcher revealed that adaptable
or malleable high skills attained at the university level, especially engineering and science
courses, were complementary with novel technologies like robotics and AI. Professional-
specific proficiencies developed through occupational schools, especially those associated with
human-intensive services, were less likely to be substituted by recent technological advances. In
a comparative investigation, DeCanio (2016) applied the Houthakker’s technique to analyze a

cross-section of the U.S. productivity data and determine the conditions under which artificial
intelligence will result in a decline in accumulated salaries, with a focus on the influence of
elasticity of replacement between robotic and human labor. The author employed the
Houthakker framework to compute the best fit of distributions, citing that an elasticity of
substitution that is more than 2.1 implies that the explosion of robotics will pose dismal effect on
human capital. The researcher found that between 1963 and 2008, the pliability of replacement
between university graduate employees and workers without college degrees was above 2.9,
implying that mechanization can replace human labor.
Other schools used the Gaussian process classifier to explore how vulnerable
employment opportunities are to the replacement capacity of technology (Frey & Osborne,
2017). The authors focused on projecting the anticipated influence of prospective automation on
U.S. labor market upshots, with the central goal of assessing the number of occupations at risk
and the association between job possibility of computerization, education level, and amount of
earned salaries. The authors predicted that the current technological advances, particularly
advances in machine learning, will decline the total need for labor input in occupations that can
be routinized by way of pattern recognition; therefore, escalating the demand for labor
performing jobs that are not at risk for computerization. Nonetheless, the authors were unable to
project future alterations in the employment makeup of the labor market.
In the accounting sphere, empirical evidence suggested that employees are presently
confronting unparalleled radical shifts resulting from AI. Harris (2018) outlined that AI and
machine learning are not anticipated to slow down and that as many as 800 million employees
will lose their occupations by 2030 due to the possible substitution by AI. According to this
author, AI has already taken over several accounting operations, encompassing audits, generation
of payrolls, and tax preparation, with several leading software developers, such as Sage, Intuit,
and Xero, having integrated machine learning technology into their computers to tackle
fundamental accounting roles, like invoice categorization, bank reconciliations, audit processes,
and risk assessments (Harris, 2018). A large share of the listed tasks is repetitive and
exceedingly time-consuming, implying that because it engages several accountants across the
United States, their computerizations will result in significant job losses. According to a report
published by the National Public Radio Inc., 97.6% of bookkeeping tasks will soon be automated
as they are ranked low in the necessity for ingenuity, helping others, and negotiation (Bui, 2015).
Bui (2015) further explained that tech inventors in the financial industry have already developed
auditing automation software, tax management application, bookkeeping applications, and
platforms that produce visualized data and fiscal forecasts.
Lee (2017) disagreed with Harris (2018), argued that artificial intelligence will create
more than 2.3 million employment prospects, which are anticipated to surpass the 1.8 million
that computerization will replace by 2020. The author adds that by 2025, another two million
job opportunities will be engendered by technology, with the companies which are anticipated to
be affected by job losses, mainly operating in transportation and manufacturing. In contrast, the
fields of education, healthcare, and public sectors are expected to profit from increased job
prospects. Parsons (2018) argued having enhanced data visualization due to the use of AI
implies that the role of accountants remains indispensable as they are required to draw inferences
and present the analyzed financial data in meaningful approaches. Therefore, auditors should
anticipate shifting to an effective advising and consulting space to ensure that they exploit AI
and automation while creating a better business framework for their companies, including taking
longer to carry out in-depth analyses and drawing meaningful reporting. In Parson’s (2018)
article, accountants can place themselves in a competitive position by considering AI as an
instrument instead of a threat. This is attributed to the fact that even though the daily use of AI
will likely replace accountants, clients will continue to rely on individualized recommendations
from trusted experts.
According to Kharpal (2017), companies with futuristic-minded CEOs, like Tesla, reject
Lee’s (2017) projections arguing that people ought to heighten their skills to be in line with the
advancing machines given that over time, there would be a closer merger of digital and
biological intelligence. He, Guo, Zhou, and Guo (2018) conducted a comprehensive analysis of
available literature to determine the effects of AI applications by assessing the present status and
prospective trends of AI in the financial sector. The authors focused on the role of AI in the
capital markets, insurance, and banking sectors as the three key industry value chains to
determine the probable influence of AI on the job market. Based on the espousal of AI in the
listed financial sectors, three core effects of AI were observed: job creation, employment cuts,
and enhanced efficiency. The latter two are affecting existing positions, while the creation of
new opportunities is reflecting the growing prospect on the labor environment. The scholars
noted that AI was capable of substituting several aspects of the tasks in existing positions (He et
al., 2018). Notably, if the significant value-creating task is labor-intensive that can be
computerized, then the vacancy can be classified as expendable by AI, and available staff can be
relocated to management or supervisory positions.
In other empirical studies, routinized and noninteractive, noncognitive tasks can be
substituted by AI, as they need no multifaceted problem-solving innovation or capacity to
address changing consumer needs or emotional interactions (Frey & Osborne, 2017). In the
financial sector, however, a significant share of employment opportunities still entails essential
value creation practices and are at risk for replacement in the future by technology, including
such tasks as front-of-office bank tellers, insurance underwriters, and back-office supporters.
Chandi (2017) observed that administrative accounting tasks are progressively becoming rarer,
and even several operational jobs conventionally carried out by accountants, including accounts
receivable and payable, have been taken over by AI. The latter is notably preferred for enhanced
cost management and heightened performance by a significant number of companies in the U.S.
Problem Statement
The evolution of technology has resulted in marked improvements in nearly every
industry in both developed and emerging economies (He et al., 2018; Luo et al., 2018).
However, the swiftness of machines has raised serious debates among labor economists,
scholars, and staff of various labor-intensive occupations on its bearings on productivity,
especially on the likelihood of computers to displace employees in the accounting and auditing
industry. The findings of the reviewed literature present mixed results (Brynjolfsson & Mcafee,
2011; Matuzeviciute et al., 2017). On the one hand, technological applications are considered to
enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of accounting and auditing operations by enabling the
professionals to use AI to examine and review thousands and millions of transactions in seconds
or minutes, a task which would have taken days-months if conducted manually (McKenzie,
2018). In addition, robotics in accounting improved the credibility, reliability, and precision of
auditing and fiscal reports because, unlike humans, it is not characterized by exhaustion, which is
often associated with increased likelihood of miscalculations, omission errors, or neglect of
fraudulent transactions (Borzykowski, 2018; Datoo & Fleisher, 2017; Ovaska-Few, 2017).
Irrespective of the beneficial prospects of automation in the accounting field, scholars have
predicted negative long-term consequences following the extensive adoption of technological
applications in running accounting operations.
Innovative software has been suggested to replace human labor by reducing its necessity
(Autor & Salomin, 2018; Dhar, 2017; Matuzeviciute et al., 2017; Sorells, 2018). News reporters
suggested that by the conclusion of the next decade, as many as 800 million jobs could be
relinquished to robots (Vincent, 2017). A report Manyika et al. (2017) that is based on the
outcomes of empirical analyses and qualitative meta-synthesis predicted that advances in
machine learning and computing will have far-reaching effects on regular working lives, like the
changes observed during the Industrial Revolution. In the United States alone, it is anticipated
that between 40 and 70 million employment opportunities are at risk of automation, which
accounts for 33% of the aggregate labor force (Manyika et al., 2017). Nevertheless, these
discussions also suggested that, robotics will not be exclusively destructive, implying that new
work opportunities will be engendered as present obligations are expected to be restructured, and
employees can switch professions (Frey & Osborne, 2013; Manyika et al., 2017; Piva &
Vivarelli, 2017; Vivarelli, 2014). Overall, the findings of the available literature suggest
uncertainty regarding the long-term influence of automation on employment, particularly in the
accounting sector.
In addition, although there are a few studies that have focused on the effect of
automation, mainly artificial intelligence, in the accounting field, most are nonempirical expert
opinions lacking scientific evidence. Although automation will create new accounting
employment opportunities, it tends to also replace others. Based on the reviewed pieces of
literature, there is a research gap on the effects of automation on current and future employment
of human accountants in the accounting sector. Thus, this study aimed to examine the effect of
automation on employment within the accounting industry. This researcher also examined the
effects or consequences of automation on future accounting employment or jobs.

CHAPTER III
Methodology
Research Objective and Questions
The overall aim of the present research was to explore the effect of automation on
employment in the accounting of Deloitte LLP, San Francisco, United States. The specific
objectives of the investigation were to: (a) determine the effects of automation on the
performance of accounting operations in Deloitte LLP, (b) explore influence automation on
client satisfaction in the Deloitte LLP’s accounting division, and (c) investigate the perspectives
of Deloitte’s accountants and auditors on the association between automation and
unemployment. To achieve these objectives, the primary investigator asked the following
research questions:
1. What are the effects of automation on the financial reporting activities in Deloitte LLP?
a. What are the effects of robotic process automation (RPA) influence financial
reporting?
b. What are the effects of AI on financial reporting?
c. What are the effects of data analytics on financial reporting?
2. What are the perspectives of Deloitte’s accountants and auditors on the association
between automation and unemployment?
a. What are the perceptions of Deloitte’s accountants towards the role of automation
in employment prospects?
b. What are the views of Deloitte’s auditors towards the impact of automation on
employment?
Hypotheses
The primary investigator had three hypotheses. The first hypothesis (H1) was that
automation would negatively influence employment opportunities in Deloitte’s accounting
department. Finally, the second hypothesis (H2) was that automation would negatively affect the
employment opportunities of accounting professionals at Deloitte’s Company.
Study Variables
The primary objective of the research was to explore the effect of automation on
employment in the accounting departments. To accomplish this the primary investigator used a
dependent variable and an independent variable. The dependent variable was employment
opportunities, while automation served as the independent variable.
Research Design
A relevant study design enables scholars to answer research queries, while effectively
addressing threats to the validity of the outcomes (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016). The primary
objective of the present investigation was to explore the effect of automation on employment in
accounting companies in San Francisco, United States. In particular, the researcher wanted to
discover the possibility of artificial intelligence to replace employment opportunities from the
standpoint of professional accountants. A quantitative research framework was appropriate in
determining the effects of technological applications on employment prospects in the accounting
sector. According to Drummond and Murphey-Reyes (2017), quantitative research frameworks
are often employed to examine causal associations between variables, but they can also be
utilized to determine the relationships between antecedents. Quantitative research depends on
the gathering and evaluation of numerical information to describe, expound, forecast, or control
determinants and phenomena under exploration (Creswell, 2014). As outlined by Gay, Mills,
and Airasian (2012), as the world is continuously evolving, the responsibility of investigators is
to adapt to and scrutinize those constant variations. The underlying principle of quantitative
research is based on the belief that occurrences in the globe are comparatively uniform and
stable; therefore, scholars can measure, interpret, and make generalized extrapolations about the
research concept. In summary, quantitative investigations are conducted to describe current
scenarios, determine associations between variables, and at times endeavor to elucidate causal
relationships between variables.
There are four major classes of quantitative study designs, including experimental, quasi-
experimental, correlational, and descriptive frameworks (Drummond & Murphey-Reyes, 2017).
Experimental studies or true experimentation employ empirical interventional techniques to
assess the cause-and-effect link between variables. As such, they are characterized by control
and intervention cohorts, as well as randomization of respondents into the two groups. On the
other hand, quasi-experiments establish the connection between control and experiment groups,
but no randomization of participants (Creswell, 2014). Correlational research endeavors to
discover, and then gauge the extent of the association between two or several antecedents.
Whereas, in descriptive quantitative studies, the scholar is simply exploring the phenomenon of
interest with the primary purpose of describing and interpreting the present state of respondents,
events, conditions, or settings (Gay et al., 2012). Descriptive studies encompass survey and
observational research. The central aim is to describe features of a group, and they entail the
administration of a questionnaire or survey to a subset of the population to outline their
experiences, behaviors, opinions, attitudes, or other features (Fraenkel et al., 2012). On the other
hand, quantitative observational research normally focuses on a specific behavioral element that
can be enumerated via a certain rating (Creswell, 2014). In the current research, a descriptive
survey design was recognized as an appropriate framework, as it did not involve controlling or
administering of any intervention. This study described the association between automation and
employment opportunities in the accounting field, as well as the views and behaviors of
accountants towards the long-term effects of technological software on accounting performances.
Target Population
The study targeted over 6,000 accounting professionals working at Deloitte LLP, San
Francisco, where they serve clients, providing them with guidance to resolve their toughest
challenges. Deloitte is a brand name under which a multitude of committed experts in
independent companies collaborate to offer tax, risk management, financial advisory, consulting,
and audit services to individual or corporate clients (Deloitte, 2019). The company was selected
as it recognizes digital technologies as accelerators of innovation that allow their clients to
improve efficiency, fuel new business models, power new products and services, and blur the
boundaries between industries (Deloitte, 2019). These include robotics, data analytics, and AI
and cognitive technologies, among others, which enable employees to map the latest research
media platforms with the around accounting events and business transactions. In addition, the
state-of-the art technologies currently being used at Deloitte LLP allow accounting and auditing
professionals to develop insight into issues that emerge from major accounting transactions or
events, like joint ventures, divestiture, acquisitions, mergers, and initial public offerings (IPOs)
that the company provides for its varied clientele.
Sampling and Sample Size Calculation
A sample of the accounting professionals was selected as per the simple random
technique, a probability sampling approach where every employee in the accounting department
has a known and equal chance to be chosen to take part in the study (Sekaran & Bougie, 2016).
The sample size was determined as per the Fischer’s formula, which proposed that when the
𝑍 2 𝑝(1−𝑝)
population (N) is more than 1,000, the sample (n) can be computed as follows: 𝑛 = .
𝐸2
Where z is the value of corresponding 95% level of confidence needed (95% CI = 1.96), p is the
proportion occurrence of a variable (50%), E is the proportion of maximum error required, and n
is the target sample size (5%=0.05). Therefore, the estimated sample size was:
𝑝(1−𝑝)
𝑛 = (𝑧 − 𝑠𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑒)2 𝑥 (𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑓 𝑒𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟)2
𝑛 = (1.96)2 0.5(1 − 0.5)/(0.05)2
𝑛 = 3.8416 𝑥 0.25/0.0025
𝑛 = 384
After the researcher received authorization from Alliant International University’s
Institutional Review Board (Appendix A). The researcher then received authorization from
Deloitte LLP to involve at least n =384 of their employees in the research (Appendix B). The
investigator placed an invitation poster on the firm’s noticeboard that outlined the purpose,
methodology, and fate of the research findings.
Demographic Characteristics
A total of 374 participants who were employees of Deloitte’s Company were included in
the study. The demographic characteristics of participants are presented in Table 1. Based on
the data presented, majority of the participants were aged 26 to 35 years old (n = 221, 59.1%).
In terms of gender, 257 participants were males (68.7%), and 106 participants were females
(38.3%). About 43.6% of participants have worked at Deloitte’s company for 1 to 5 years (n =
163) while 37.4% of participants have worked at Deloitte’s company for 5 to 10 years (n = 140).
About 39.8% of participants were using the accounting and financial software for 26 to 50% of
the time daily (n = 149), while 24.6% are using the accounting and financial software for 51% to
75% of the time daily (n = 92). Moreover, 23.5% were using the accounting and financial
software for 10 to 25% of the time daily (n = 88). Majority of the participants were from the
accounting or finance (n = 125, 33.4%) and marketing departments (n = 119, 31.8%), while
majority were also holding supervisor (n = 127, 34.0%) and manager positions (n = 171,
45.7%).
Table 1
Frequencies and Percentages of Demographic Characteristics
Demographic Characteristics Frequency Percent
Age 18 – 25 59 15.8
26 – 35 221 59.1
36 – 45 57 15.2
46 – 55 27 7.2
65 – 65 6 1.6
I would rather not 1 0.3
disclose my age
Total 371 99.2
Missing System 3 0.8
Total 374 100.0
Gender Male 257 68.7
Female 106 28.3
Total 363 97.1
Total 374 100.0
Length of time with Deloitte's company Less than 1 year 23 6.1
1 - 5 years 163 43.6
5 to 10 years 140 37.4
10 - 20 years 34 9.1
Over 20 years 8 2.1
Total 368 98.4
Total 374 100.0
Demographic Characteristics Frequency Percent

Percent of Time using Accounting and Less than 10% 12 3.2
Financial Software on a Daily Basis 10% - 25% 88 23.5
26% - 50% 149 39.8
51% - 75% 92 24.6
Over 75% 27 7.2

Total 368 98.4
Total 374 100.0
Department Accounting or 125 33.4
Finance
Marketing 119 31.8
Research 57 15.2
Customer Service 53 14.2
Other 10 2.7
Total 364 97.3
Total 374 100.0
Rank of Position within the Company Staff 53 14.2
Supervisor 127 34.0
Manager 171 45.7
Director 11 2.9
Administrator 7 1.9
Other 1 0.3
Total 370 98.9
Total 374 100.0
Data Collection
A self-administered questionnaire form (see Appendix C) was posted on Deloitte’s social
media platforms with the link to the online survey. According to Sekaran and Bougie (2016), an
online questionnaire method has been recognized as the hallmark of business research following
the establishment of social networks, mobile phones, and the Internet. A significant benefit of
the online survey is that it exploits the capacity of the Internet to provide access to individual
workers or groups who would be difficult to interview owing to their work schedules. The target
respondents can access the link even after work, and they can fill the survey forms at their
convenient time (Gay et al., 2012). Furthermore, although the response rate may be relatively
lower compared to interview questionnaires, the online questionnaire will be significantly
economical. The questionnaire responses of the sample were extrapolated to represent the
opinions and perspectives of the general population of accountants in the U.S.
Data Analysis
The returned questionnaires were coded, a process that entails allocating a number to the
respondents’ feedback so that it can be keyed into the Statistical Program of Social Sciences
(SPSS version 25) software Data Editor in preparation for analysis (Gay et al., 2012). After
inputting the information into SPSS, the author edited the information, a process that involved
identifying and correcting inconsistent, illogical, or illegal data and omissions. Once all the
information had been cleaned, this researcher used descriptive statistics to analyze the
demographic data of respondents, while inferential statistics were used to determine the effect of
automation on accountancy employment prospects. Specifically, a Pearson correlation
coefficient (r) was computed to establish the relationship between automation and employment
opportunities, as well as between automation and client satisfaction.
Conclusion
A review of the existing literature suggested that there are mixed results regarding the
effects of automation on employment prospects in the accounting industry. While several
scholars believed technological applications have already started taking over accountants' jobs,
others anticipated automation would help accountants improve their productivity. Thus, the
objective of the current research was to quantitatively measure the effect of automation on
employment opportunities in the accounting sector. The study employed a descriptive survey
design to guide the collection of data from a sample of employees of Deloitte LLP, San
Francisco. Inferential and descriptive statistics were used to test the hypotheses that automation
does not affect employment opportunities in the accounting sector and that automation has no
effect on consumer satisfaction of services of a company.

CHAPTER IV
Results
Descriptive Analysis
It is noteworthy that the overall number of participants who ultimately engaged in the
data collection process of the project encompassed approximately 374 participants. Out of these,
a total of 278 participants were holding leadership positions, while only 23 individuals were
entry level accountants with less than one year of experience in the company. The remaining
population of 73 participants exhibited an average level of accounting experience working at
Deloitte. It is precise that the derived opinions and inputs with regards to all the participants’
exposure and encounters with technology were clearly divergent across all the questionnaire
items. The participants were asked to rate the extent of use of technologies such as the RPA,
artificial intelligence (AI), and data analysis. Table 2 includes the frequencies and percentages
of the participants’ ratings.
Based on the researchers results, the participation rate of top level management persons
across all the questionnaire items or queries was about 70% (n = 196), while that of the entry
level accountants averaged at 86% (n = 20). Only 190 managers provided their feedback with
regards to their experiences with AI technologies, while 202 effectively indicated their
encounters with RPA technologies. On the other hand, approximately 20 entry level participants
effectively responded to all their questionnaire queries.
As observed, most participants used data analysis daily (n = 117, 31.3%) while 89
participants used AI daily (23.8%) and 78 participants used RPA daily (20.9%). A total of 121
participants responded that they used RPA frequently (32.4%) followed by 120 participants who
used data analysis frequently (32.1%), and 116 participants who used AI frequently (31.0%).
Table 2
Frequencies and Percentages of Rating on Extent of Use of Technologies
Extent of Use of Technologies Frequency Percent

How would you rate the extent of use of the Not used at all 10 2.7
following technologies in your department? Used rarely 51 13.6
Used occasionally 98 26.2
Used frequently 121 32.4
RPA
Used daily 78 20.9
I am not familiar with this 12 3.2
Total 370 98.9
Total 374 100.0
following technologies in your department? Used rarely 48 12.8
AI (Artificial Intelligence)
Used daily 89 23.8
Total 369 98.7
Total 374 100.0
following technologies in your department?
Used rarely 27 7.2
Data Analysis Used daily 117 31.3
Total 369 98.7
System 5 1.3
Missing 374 100.0
Total
Participants were also asked to rate on a scale of 1 to 5 their level of agreement to the
statements about the use of technologies. A total of 261 participants agreed that RPA positively
influenced financial reporting while there were 20 participants who were not familiar with RPA.
A total of 224 participants agreed that AI positively influenced financial reporting (59.9%) while
there were 23 participants who were unfamiliar with AI (6.1%). A total of 263 participants
agreed that data analytics positively influenced financial reporting (70.3%) while there were 19
participants who were unfamiliar with data analytics (5.1%).
Many of the participants agreed that they are almost experts with the company’s
accounting and financial technologies (n = 221, 59.1%). Majority of the participants also agreed
(n = 177, 47.3%) and strongly agreed (n = 81, 21.7%) that the more experienced they are with
the company’s accounting and financial technologies, the faster it will lead them to promotion.
On the other hand, 46.5% agreed (n = 174) and 17.1% strongly agreed (n = 64) that they are
afraid that if they do not master the company’s accounting and financial technologies, they will
get terminated.
More than half of the participants agreed that robotics technology will be sufficiently
intelligent to substitute skilled accountants in the next 10 to 20 years (n = 198, 52.9%). About
55.1% of participants also agreed that advanced automation will guarantee the information
quality in the accounting sector (n = 206), while 48.7% of participants agreed that advanced
automation will positively affect client satisfaction with Deloitte’s services (n = 182).
Moreover, 196 participants agreed (52.4%) and 76 participants strongly agreed (20.3%) that
advanced automation will improve processing of contract reviews. In terms of participants’
motivation, confidence, and concern, 195 participants agreed that they are extremely motivated
to learn the company's accounting and finance software programs (52.1%), 189 participants
agreed that they are extremely confident that they will learn the company's accounting and
finance software programs within the time allowed (50.5%), and 154 participants agreed that
they are extremely concerned that one day their position will be eliminated, and they will be
replaced by a new technology (41.2%).
Therefore, to address the research questions posed in the study, participants, in general,
agreed that automation positively influences financial reporting in the company. Participants are
motivated to learn the accounting and financial technologies and they are confident to that they
can learn the accounting and financial technologies. However, participants are also concerned
that automation will replace them in their positions in the future.
Table 3
Frequencies and Percentages of Agreement to Statements on Use of Technologies
Use of Technology Frequency Percent
RPA positively influences Strongly disagree 1 0.3
financial reporting. Disagree 14 3.7
Neither agree nor disagree 72 19.3
Agree 261 69.8
I am not familiar with RPA 20 5.3
Total 368 98.4
Total 374 100.0
Artificial Intelligence Strongly disagree 6 1.6
positively influences Disagree 25 6.7
financial reporting. Neither agree nor disagree 91 24.3
Agree 224 59.9
I am not familiar with 23 6.1
Artificial Intelligence
Total 369 98.7
Total 374 100.0
Data analytics positively Strongly disagree 6 1.6
influences financial Disagree 21 5.6
reporting. Neither agree nor disagree 60 16.0
Agree 263 70.3
I am not familiar with Data 19 5.1
Analytics
Total 369 98.7

Total 374 100.0
I am almost an expert with Strongly disagree 6 1.6
this company's accounting Disagree 18 4.8
and financial technologies. Neither agree nor disagree 71 19.0
Agree 221 59.1
Strongly agree 52 13.9
Total 368 98.4
Total 374 100.0
I believe that the more Strongly disagree 8 2.1
experienced I am with this Disagree 22 5.9
company's accounting and Neither agree nor disagree 80 21.4
financial technologies, the Agree 177 47.3
faster I will get a promotion.
Total 368 98.4
Total 374 100.0
I am afraid that if I don't Strongly disagree 17 4.5
master this company's Disagree 43 11.5
accounting and financial Neither agree nor disagree 70 18.7
technologies, that I will be Agree 174 46.5
terminated.
Total 368 98.4
Total 374 100.0
Robotics technology will be Strongly disagree 15 4.0
sufficiently intelligent to Disagree 22 5.9
substitute skilled accountants Neither agree nor disagree 69 18.4
in the next 10-20 years. Agree 198 52.9
Total 367 98.1
Total 374 100.0
Advanced automation will Strongly disagree 5 1.3
guarantee the information Disagree 17 4.5
quality in the accounting Neither agree nor disagree 68 18.2
sector. Agree 206 55.1
Total 368 98.4

Total 374 100.0
positively affect client Disagree 26 7.0
satisfaction with Deloitte’s Neither agree nor disagree 73 19.5
services. Agree 182 48.7
Total 368 98.4
Total 374 100.0
improve processing of Disagree 14 3.7
contract reviews. Neither agree nor disagree 77 20.6
Agree 196 52.4
Total 368 98.4
Total 374 100.0
I am extremely motivated to Strongly disagree 8 2.1
learn this company's Disagree 12 3.2
accounting and finance Neither agree nor disagree 61 16.3
software programs. Agree 195 52.1
Total 367 98.1
Total 374 100.0
I am extremely confident that Strongly disagree 12 3.2
I will learn this company's Disagree 17 4.5
accounting and finance Neither agree nor disagree 56 15.0
software programs within the Agree 189 50.5
time allowed.
Total 367 98.1
Total 374 100.0
I am extremely concerned Strongly disagree 17 4.5
that one day my position will Disagree 34 9.1
be eliminated, and I will be Neither agree nor disagree 79 21.1
replaced by a new Agree 154 41.2
technology.
Total 367 98.1
Total 374 100.0

Correlation Analysis
To further investigate the data gathered in the study, a Spearman’s correlation analysis
was conducted to determine whether the use of technologies correlated with the perceptions of
participants on automation of accounting and financial functions. The Spearman’s correlation as
opposed to the Pearson’s correlation analysis was conducted because the variables were ordinal
in nature. The frequent use of RPA was correlated with the motivation and the concern of
participants on using accounting and financial software. The results of the Spearman’s
correlation determined that more frequent use of RPA correlated with being extremely motivated
to learn the company’s accounting and finance programs (Rho = .185, p < .01) as well as being
extremely concerned that one day their position will be replaced by new technology (Rho = .105,
p = .045). The frequent use of AI is also positively correlated with the motivation (Rho = .140, p
= .007) and concern of participants (Rho = .122, p = .020). On the other hand, frequent use of
data analysis is positively correlated with motivation (Rho = .144, p = .006 and confidence of
participants (Rho = .157, p = .002). However, the use of data analysis is not correlated with the
concern of participants on being replaced by technology in the future (Rho = .033, p = .524).
Table 4
Spearman’s Correlation Analysis
I am extremely I am extremely I am extremely
motivated to confident that I will concerned that one
learn this learn this company's day my position
company's accounting and will be eliminated,
accounting and finance software and I will be
finance software programs within the replaced by a new
programs. time allowed. technology.
Spearman's RPA Correlation .185** 0.080 .105*
rho Coefficient
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.000 0.126 0.045
N 367 367 367
AI Correlation .140** 0.053 .122*

Coefficient
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.007 0.309 0.020
N 366 367 366
Data Correlation .144** .157** 0.033
Analysis Coefficient
Sig. (2-tailed) 0.006 0.002 0.524
N 366 367 366
**. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
Summary
The purpose of this study was to explore the effect of automation on employment in the
accounting department of Deloitte LLP, San Francisco, United States. Descriptive analysis and
correlation analysis were conducted to address the research questions and post the hypotheses for
the study. Based on the results of the analysis, automation motivated employees to learn the
accounting and financial software of the company. Participants are also confident that they
would learn the accounting and financial software within the time needed. On the other hand,
automation also increased the concern of employees, specifically, that their positions may be
replaced by new technologies in the future.

CHAPTER V
Discussion
The purpose of this quantitative study was to address the research gap on the effects of
automation on current and future employment of human accountants. A self-administered online
questionnaire was used to gather data regarding what current employees think about being
replaced with artificial intelligence. Data was collected from 374 participants selected by simple
random sampling of accountants and auditors at Deloitte LLP, San Francisco, California.
These are the results from the questionnaire: (a) automation motivated employees to learn
accounting and financial software, (b) participants were confident that they would learn the
software within the time needed or allowed, (c) automation increased the concern of employees’
position being replaced by new technology in the future. Some factors related to participants'
views include the level of expertise in using software, the type of automation (i.e., artificial
intelligence, robotics, and data analysis), level of agreement on robotic technology substituting
workers, and the frequency of using accounting and financial software.
Interpretation of the Findings
The major findings of this study support that automation has a positive influence on client
satisfaction by improving the accuracy of information when it is related to financial reporting
and reviewing contracts. Also, participants agreed that automation was beneficial to the
accounting industry, and they were motivated and confident they would learn any new
accounting or financial software. Finally, participants were concerned about future
unemployment due to automation replacing them. This indicated that automation has more
positive effects on accounting operation than negative.

In terms of existing literature, artificial intelligence (AI) was forecasted to replace
primary accounting functions due to being associated with operational and cost efficiencies
(Chukwudi et al., 2018). Additionally, AI involves using a learning capacity and flexibility with
computers that will help people in performing routine tasks, such as identifying authorized
intrusions in cyber networks, locating financial errors, or big data analysis. In other words,
automation is an asset to accounting companies when it comes to providing their clients with
accurate and reliable contracts or other financial information. However, employees certainly
face the possibility of unemployment (Dilek et al., 2015).
In the context of contemporary business, intelligent agents are among the significant
solution software that addresses challenges relating to data overload resulting from the creation
of a completely networked environment, as demonstrated by the case of Internet of Things (IoT)
(Deloitte, 2017). Also, Information Technology (IT) based applications allow for organizations
to produce financial reports faster, which helps in facilitating prompt decision making (Ghasemi
et al., 2011). The current study supports this in terms of the level of agreement Deloitte
employees have about using technology. For example, when it comes to daily use: 149
participants reported using accounting and financial software up to 50% of the time, 92
participants reported using software up to 75% of the time, and 88 participants reported using
software up to 25% of the time.
For further exploration, it is important to address the frequency at which automation is
currently used. The extent of use of data analysis, robotic program automation (RPA), and AI
was one of the questions participants were asked on the online questionnaire that was
administered. When it came to data analysis, 117 participants indicated they have used it daily
and 120 participants reported frequent use of data analysis. The daily use of data analysis is
higher in comparison to the use of RPA or AI, which was recorded at 78 participants and 89
participants respectively. Although there is a difference in the daily use among different types of
automation, findings support that RPA and AI are being used more frequently to enhance
administrative procedures. McKenzie (2018) suggested that machines are becoming smart as
computers and are being used more when it comes to taking over intelligent and simplified
operations in the field of accounting.
For example, 261 participants agreed that robotic program automation (RPA) has a
positive influence on tasks such as financial reporting, 224 participants agreed that AI has a
positive influence on financial reporting, and 263 participants agreed that data analysis has a
positive influence on reporting financial information. This indicated that current employees have
an appreciation for the benefits that automation provides in completing their accounting related
tasks. Deloitte (2017) and Shabbir and Anwer (2018) reported that AI has the potential to copy
the human mind which will aid in terms of problem-solving. Also, Lombardo (2014) suggested
that automation makes it easier and quicker for an accounting company to produce financial
reports. This allows companies like Deloitte to speed up the process of creating financial reports
requested by company clients and provide accurate and reliable information.
It is suggested that the proportion of the working population in the U.S has declined
radically since the 2007 business cycle; this is attributed to job losses, including policy
ambiguity, and the extension of government transfer initiatives (Charles et al., 2019;
Kolesnikova, 2014; Mian & Sufi, 2009). The current results indicated that 177 participants
agreed that they were fearful of losing their job if they are unable to adapt to the new technology.
Additionally, 198 participants believed that in the next 10 to 20 years, skilled accountants will be
replaced by robotic technology. This means that participants’ understanding that their job could
be replaced could be a factor when it comes to adjusting to the use of increased automation. It
should be noted that the percentage of participants who strongly agreed that innovations in
automation would cause them to lose their job was lower with only 64 participants reporting that
if they do not master new technology they will likely lose their job. Thus, perhaps there is a gap
in terms of whether participants truly understand the progressive nature of automation being
implemented in the accounting industry and what guides their opinion of losing their job.
One of the conclusions from this study is that automation motivates employees to learn
accounting and financial software; this relates to what existing literature says. Levy and
Murnane (2007) suggested that employees are needing to rebuild their skills to adjust to the
increased use of automation. In the current study, from a sample size of 195 participants, 52.1%
agreed that they are extremely motivated to learn software programs, 50.5 % (n = 189) reported
they were extremely confident they could learn new skills in the time the company requires.
This suggests that participants understand the necessity for advancing along with the increased
use of automation.
When it comes to the influence of automation on client satisfaction in accounting
divisions, existing literature suggests that if businesses do not opt to use automation specifically
AI systems, then this increases the chances of processing inaccurate financial data, thus harming
reliability, confidentiality, and the accuracy of information (Deloitte, 2017). Also, Chandi
(2017) suggested several accounting corporations that implemented AI and updated operations
have reported positive results such as the delivery of accurate data, increased in productivity,
lowered costs, and saved time. In other words, the use of AI and bots improves administrative
procedures and the ability to comply with accounting regulations.

According to the results of the current study, 196 participants reported on their
questionnaire that they agree advanced automation will have a positive effect on client
satisfaction with the services provided by Deloitte. This contrasts with 76 participants who
strongly agree that there will be a positive effect on the services that clients receive. It would be
interesting in future research to determine why there is a stark difference between the extents to
which participants agreed. For example, 163 participants in the study had only been employed
for 1 to 5 years in comparison to the 140 participants who had been employed for 5 to 10 years.
It could be possible that the length of employment with the company influences the employee’s
ability to gauge client satisfaction.
Smith & Anderson (2014) reported in an article that in comparison to the past,
organizations who are basing their choices or decisions on outdated information should consider
using expert systems for the accessibility and analysis of data in real-time. As a result, AI will
allow companies to make updated decisions, understand the present financial statuses, determine
recent patterns in business, and make daily weekly, monthly, or even annual predictions about
how the firm is performing. The use of AI can overcome the drawbacks of inefficiency and low
added value in the financial reporting sector, thereby, make accountants shift to more inventive
activities that heighten the company’s value (Davenport, 2016; Luo et al., 2018; Yang &
Vasarhelyi, 2009). It is prudent to assume that the factors listed above have a positive effect on
client satisfaction.
Participants (n = 206) in this study agreed that advanced automation will guarantee the
quality of information within the accounting sector through auditing and the accuracy of
financial data can be examined; one example would be processing contract reviews. AI tools are
capable of precisely abstracting data from tenancy contracts using preset benchmarks, and in a
vast majority of cases, at an increased level of accuracy when compared to a human reviewing
the information (Boillet, 2018). Typically, accounting experts and legal teams assess the
documents, provide insights, and make applicable ideas for changes. It should be noted that this
places limits on different factors such as human inaccuracy, the amount of work, which are
elements that interfere with the consistency, dependability, and quickness of obtaining results.
With respect to the perspectives that accountants and auditors have about the association
between automation and unemployment, scholars note that AI can substitute several aspects of
the tasks in existing positions. Notably, if the significant task is labor-intensive and can be
computerized there is the opportunity that staff can be considered and or hired to supervisory
roles or other positions (He et al., 2018). Chandi (2017) reported that administrative accounting
tasks are quickly becoming scarcer, making it harder for accountants and auditors to find work.
Also, operational jobs typically completed by accountants, such as accounts receivable and
payable, are fading due to the increased use of AI (Frey & Osborne, 2017). In terms of
correlation, the increased use of RPA was correlated with employees being extremely concerned
about being replaced by new technology. Although this has minimal significance, it still speaks
to the issue of employees being concerned about losing their job due to advanced automation.
Some scholars view automation as a probable mechanism of replacing jobs in routine
intensive professions, others view it as a method for improving the quality of services delivered
that by employees who have related expertise (Frey & Osborne, 2017). Also, the results of two
studies conducted by Jaimovich and Siu (2012) and Charles et al. (2019) indicated that the
lasting decrease in manufacturing jobs and the phasing out of usual employment is attributed to
automation. Similarly, Levy and Murnane (2007) investigated how computerization changes
professional skill demands and concluded that there is a structural change in the labor market and
employees are reconfiguring their skillset from middle-income to low-income service careers
(Autor & Dorn, 2013; Autor et al., 2003; Goos & Manning, 2003). This could be attributed to
the manual nature of service jobs, which tend to be less vulnerable to automation because an
increased degree of environmental adaptability and flexibility is needed. This certainly relates to
the 154 participants being extremely concerned with losing their job one day due to the
implementation of new technology. One thing that is not clear is if there are any other factors
related to why employees would be concerned with losing their position in the company.
Finally, David (2017) reviewed existing empirical studies to assess the susceptibility of
employment from a technological perspective by considering employment disparity. The
outcomes suggested that depending on artificial intelligence, more than half of occupations are
likely to be taken over by computers and software in the next five years and the prospects of
labor/capital substitution; however, the subtleties will also rely on social and economic
antecedents. In terms of the current study, it can be reported that this does not apply to the use of
data analysis because it is not correlated with the concern of participants being replaced by
technology in the future.
It is appropriate to consider the degree of expertise employees have when it comes to
financial technologies. Participants (n = 221) reported that they are almost an expert. When it
comes to experience with technology, 221 participants reported that with more experience, they
could be promoted quicker. Of those participants, it is interesting to note that only 81
participants strongly agreed. What accounts for the difference in the extent to which the
participants agree? There could be other factors such as length of employment and motivation
that influenced how much participants agreed and could be investigated in future research.
The last component of the study to discuss is the level of motivation and confidence of
employees in terms of needing to learn new software. For instance, 195 participants reported
that are extremely motivated to learn software programs and 189 participants agreed that they
were extremely confident they could learn the software in the time allotted by the company. In
terms of correlational analysis, the frequency of using automation such as RPA is correlated with
motivation and the concern of employees using accounting and financial software. Also, more
frequent use of RPA correlates with being extremely motivated to learn the software.
According to DeCanio (2016) who applied Houthakker’s technique to analyze a cross-
section of the U.S. productivity data results showed that between 1963 and 2008, the flexibility
with replacing university graduate employees and workers without college degrees was above
2.9, signaling that computerization can replace employees. This relates to the results of the
current study because it indicates that motivation, concern, and confidence are going to be
required for employees so they can keep their current position. If someone is motivated and
confident, they will be able to adjust accordingly and work with the increased implementation of
automation. For example, the frequency at which AI is used is positively correlated with
motivation and the concern of participants this is not statistically significant, but represents that
given the opportunity, employees would be motivated to learn and use new software and
technology to perform their job duties. In practice, accounting companies need to educate
employees about the new technology which could be done during staff meetings.
Finally, the frequent use of data analysis is positively correlated with motivation and
confidence of participants. It was statistically significant indicating that if jobs require
employees to learn new data analysis software, they will be motivated and confident which in
turn will increase their chances of keeping their job despite the increased use of automation. One
way for employers to support this would be to include the topic of using automation as part of
employee performance reviews. This allows the company to ensure they can assess if adapting
to new technology is a concern on an individual level and then determine an effective way to
improve an employee’s ability to work with the automation.
Implications for Theory and Research
In Chapter II, task model predictions suggested that present changes to machine learning
would lead to an increased demand for human workforce input jobs to consistently use pattern
recognition and simultaneously creating a market for labor performing tasks that are not
vulnerable to automation (Brynjolfsson & Mcafee, 2011; Frey & Osborne, 2013). Shabbir and
Anwer (2018) reported that expert system software can be created for any task that entails a
choice from a definable group of selections and the intentional decision is established based on
reasonable steps. Thus, any field in which a group or individual has specialized expertise is a
potential candidate for expert systems.
Based on this information and the results of the current study, 41.2% of participants were
extremely concerned that if they did not keep up with the increased use of automation, they
would be replaced and not have a job. Additionally, 46.5% (n = 154) agreed that they are afraid
if they do not master the technology, they will be terminated when it comes to expertise with
accounting and financial technology. This means that employees are aware that an influx in
automation within the field they work in is changing and leading to human jobs being replaced.
What this does not indicate are any specific reasons why employees were concerned and the
degree to which they worry about losing their job. It would be interesting to find out for instance
if some of the demographic characteristics such as age, length of employment with the company,
and the department employees worked in play a role in the degree of concern and awareness of
the increased use of automation.
Secondly, it is interesting to note that several employees reported that they were
unfamiliar with technology advances related to RPA (5.1%), AI (6.1%), and data analytics
(5.1%). With an increased demand for automation, it would be beneficial to determine why the
employees were unfamiliar. This could be attributed to the sample of the study since some of the
participants (31.8%) worked in the marketing departments. This is evidence that future studies
should include more financial and accounting employees who work hands-on alongside robots.
A wider net should be cast in terms of a more diverse sample and determine the frequency of
those in other departments who experience effects of automation.
Implications for Practice
Parsons (2018) suggested that accountants can place themselves in a competitive position
by considering AI as an instrument instead of a threat. This is attributed to the fact that even
though the daily use of AI will likely replace accountants, clients will continue to rely on
individualized recommendations from trusted experts. Similarly, Morikawa (2017) utilized data
from the Survey of Life and Consumption under the Changing Economic Structure and Policies
that involved more than 10,000 participants, to assess the influence of robotics and AI on
employment. It was found that adaptable high skills obtained at the university level, including
engineering and science courses, align with using automation like robotics and AI.
The present study did not cover any information related to what current job requirements
are for those who work in the accounting department. For instance, are the job duties already
being tailored so that employees do not need to worry about losing their job to technology? Are
employees required to keep up with job-related certifications or skills sets already, or is this
something that will need to be a future requirement? Additionally, there is not any comparison
or information about how other companies view and use automation. It would be helpful to
determine how CEOs or CFOs view automation. Is it positive or negative and does their
perceptions and beliefs determine how the company adjusts?
There was no exploration about how factors such as age influence adjusting to the use of
automation. For instance, the current study demographics for age was 26 to 35 years of age. It is
appropriate to concede that those who are younger might have an easier time adjusting to new
technology because it is a generation that grew up with more advanced technology in general
compared to those who might be between the ages of 50-70. This is something that could have
influenced the degree of confidence and motivation to learn new software.
Finally, there was little information about how employees know that clients are satisfied
or how that is measured. Are feedback surveys sent out to clients? Have employees received
verbal positive feedback from clients or their manager or supervisor? Further exploration into
how employees know clients are satisfied is something to consider for future research.
Limitations and Recommendations
In the realm of accounting, employees are presently facing unprecedented changes in job
duties which is a result of the increased use of automation such as AI. Harris (2018) anticipated
that AI and machine learning will not decrease, and those 800 million employees will lose their
jobs by 2030 due to the likely substitution of AI. With the current study, it would be helpful to
determine at this time if and why employees’ jobs have already been replaced and what the
outcome was in terms of finding new employment. Another aspect to consider is how those who
run accounting and financial departments view and plan to adapt to the use of more technology.
For this to be examined it would be helpful to have a larger sample and consider comparing
companies’ beliefs and plans of action for adjusting to increased use of automation.
In the current study participants were predominantly men, with 257 participants who
identified as male compared to 106 participants who identified as female. This is a sizeable
difference and could be a possible factor and lends to the recommendation for a larger sample
that is more generalizable than the current study. Additionally, the age bracket was somewhat
limited, does the age range of 26 to 35 years old apply to other financial and accounting
companies? Is this something that influences things like being able to learn new software and
the level of confidence and motivation? This is something that should be addressed in future
research so that data could be more generalizable.
Also, an online questionnaire was used which is something that could exclude employees
who do not have access to a computer, technologically averse due to generational differences, or
find online surveys to be difficult to complete. Consequently, the challenges can limit the sample
and the generalizability of the study results. It is also possible that employees at different
accounting companies have different views on automation, differing levels of motivation and
confidence in learning new software, and the degree of concern with losing their job because of
new technologies such as RPA, AI, and data analysis. There is ample empirical research
suggesting that technology will undoubtedly substitute humans (Matuzeviciute et al., 2017; Piva
& Vivarelli, 2017; Vivarelli, 2014). Vivarelli (2014) analyzed experimental and theoretical
research on the qualitative and quantitative employment influence of computerization and
reported that with regards to measurable effects, product innovation is labor-friendly. This
indicated that a mixed methods research design would possibly produce a more complete picture
of how automation influenced those who work in accounting. It is possible that if participants
can include more details about motivation, confidence, concern for job loss, and their knowledge
of client satisfaction from a qualitative inquiry, then there will be something to supplement and
aid in the explanation of statistical data.
Further information about how expertise is defined would be important. Is this
something that is measured based on the frequency of use daily? What are the specific factors
that influence motivation and confidence with learning new software? The number of years one
has worked in the industry may be related to the concern for losing their job and employees’
motivation and confidence to adjust to new technology. Other elements that should be explored
further include: the educational background of employees and participants, past work experience
with automation if any, and to what extent to levels of motivation and confidence are influenced
over time. Employees for whatever reason might lose motivation and confidence to learn more
software or have a heightened concern for losing their job.
A longitudinal study could be conducted to assess things like the rate at which accounting
companies are implementing new technology, changes in motivation and confidence in learning
new computer software, and the level of concern for job loss. Finally, it is suggested that future
research includes some more information about theoretical frameworks used to explain things
like employee concern, confidence, and motivation related to technology. This will help provide
a more complete picture of how these factors can be explained and how motivational theories
can be applied to those who work in the accounting and financial sectors.
Another essential limitation that adversely interfered with the outcome of the study
involved an inadequate budget. Conducting empirical studies, particularly in the sphere of
technological use, typically requires an enormous budget to effectively acquire sufficient data
from an adequate sample population size. During the study process, some participants were not
engaged due to a lack of access to the necessary computerized devices to retrieve questionnaires.
Although, the study incorporated sample participants from distinct age brackets, there is an
imminent need for additional empirical surveys regarding the level of technological exposure or
proficiencies in accountants across different age groups. With the constantly emerging
technological advancements in contemporary society, it is apprehensible that the level of
technological know-how may be unevenly distributed across individuals from different time
periods, such as young adults and senior employees within the field of accounting.
Conclusions
According to a report published by National Public Radio Inc., many bookkeeping tasks
will soon be automated because they are ranked low in the necessity for ingenuity, helping
others, and negotiation (Bui, 2015). Technology inventors in the financial industry have already
developed auditing automation software, tax management applications, bookkeeping
applications, and platforms that produce visualized data and fiscal forecasts. Lee (2017)
suggested that artificial intelligence would create more than 2.3 million employment prospects,
which are anticipated to surpass the 1.8 million that computerization will replace by 2020. By
2025, it is projected that an additional two million jobs will be in jeopardy due to technology.
The current study was designed to address if automation had a negative influence on
employment opportunities in Deloitte’s accounting department. Second, if there was a negative
effect on employment opportunities for accounting professionals. The last objective of this study
was to examine how automation influences consumer satisfaction with accounting services
provided by Deloitte.
There was no indication of negative influences on employment opportunities, but rather
participants only reported the degree of concern for losing their jobs due to the use of
automation. Participants agreed that automation enhances accounting tasks by increasing the
speed of completing accounting tasks. Confidence and motivation levels for learning new
software were high and were seen to keep their job or get promoted. It should be noted that there
was not enough data gathered on how many people at the company have lost their job because
there is new technology. There needs to be a distinction made between people who have lost
their job for other reasons like not following company rules or excessive absences and those who
were replaced with RPA or AI. Although, results indicated that people are aware of potential job
loss it is unclear if this has already started happening within Deloitte or other companies.
When participants were asked if there is a negative effect on employment opportunities
for professionals, participants agreed that client satisfaction was positively influenced using
automation, but it is unknown how participants came to this opinion. There needs to be more
information about how clients measure their level of satisfaction and how supervisors or
managers measure client satisfaction. Are there reports generated on a monthly or daily basis or
is it a matter of projecting that clients will be or are satisfied with the services provided?
Finally, in terms of how automation influences consumer satisfaction with accounting
services provided by Deloitte, participants did express a strong level of concern for losing their
job. However, that is the extent to which we can identify losing a job as a negative effect of
automation. In this case, it is important to consider other factors that are a negative influence of
new technology. Is fear of the inability to learn new software included in this? Is the number of
years someone has work in the accounting field a factor? Someone who has had a long tenure
with a company and has seen the effects of automation over a longer period might have a
different view on the effects of automation.

What we do know is that changes are coming and are already in place when it comes to
increasing the use of AI, RPA, and data analysis. There are opposing opinions about the effect
automation is having and will have when it comes to financial and accounting jobs. Some
researchers and experts believe it is more detrimental in terms of job displacement, while others
believe that employees can sharpen their skills and expertise to be able to work with the more
frequent use of automation. It seems the best of both worlds can be achieved, but that all
depends on the perceptions of companies in general and the employees who work for them.
Change can be a positive thing, however, there needs to be a certain level of awareness when it
comes to potential negative consequences of changes related to increased use of automation.
There is the possibility that there could be a balance created between using automation and
allowing employees to remain in the accounting industry.

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APPENDIX A
Institutional Review Board Approval Letter

APPENDIX B
Letter of Authorization to Conduct Research at Deloitte

DELOITTE TOUCHÉ TOHMATSU LIMITED

555 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94105
Date: 22nd April 2021

Our Ref: Facility Authorization 1-2021

Institutional Review Board (IRB)
c/o Office of Human Subjects
10455 Pomerado Road,
San Diego,
CA 92131
Dear IRB – Office of Human Subjects

Subject: Letter of Authorization to Conduct Research at Deloitte
Kindly note that Mr. Saeed Taha Ishmaeel, a Alliant International University, Doctoral
student, has been permitted by Deloitte to conduct his research project titled “ The Impact of
Automation on Employment within the Accounting Industry” at our San Francisco facility.
Deloitte concedes that it has evaluated and accepted the study protocol presented by the
researcher, in addition to all concomitant risks to the facility. The research project can proceed as
scheduled upon receipt of the approval letter of the study from the IRB of the AIU.
Mr.Saeed will directly contact the staff to recruit or enroll them as respondents in the
study. A flyer will be posted on Deloitte’s social media accounts by an employee from
Marketing and Communications department of Deloitte. The person in charge in the accounting
department of Deloitte will be recruiting the participants, and the researcher intends to provide
the flyer to the internal incharge source within a month from the date of authorization.
Mr.Saeed’s studywith Deloitte will be completed by 30th June 2021.
Mr.Saeed has agreed not to access any of our offices or impede the flow of human and
vehicular traffic at the facility. Importantly, the employees will not be permitted to leave their
workstations or allowed time from their work duties and responsibilities to complete the surveys.
The researcher has also agreed to provide an official copy of the Alliant International
University’s IRB-approved, stamped consent document before he starts recruiting the study
participants. Lastly, Mr.Saeed has committed to providing my office with a copy of the study
findings.
Deloitte will contact the researcher and/or the IRB’s Office of Human Subjects to seek
any clarification or additional information. If there are any questions, please contact the
undersigned.
Sincerely,
Deloitte Touché Tohmatsu Limited

Regional Manager
APPENDIX C
Questionnaire
Survey Questions
Q1
Yes, I agree with this consent form. (1)
o No, I do not agree with this consent form. (2)

Q 2 What is your age?
o 18 - 25 (1)
o 26 - 35 (2)
o 36 - 45 (3)
o 46 - 55 (4)
o 65 - 65 (5)
o over 65 (6)
o I would rather not disclose my age (7)
Q 3 What is your gender?
o Male (1)
o Female (2)
o I would rather not disclose my gender (3)
Q 4 How long have you been with the Deloitte’s company?
o Less than 1 year (1)

o 1 - 5 years (2)
o 5 to 10 years (3)
o 10 - 20 years (4)
o Over 20 years (5)
Q5 What percent of your time do you use with accounting and financial software on
a daily basis?
o Less than 10% (1)

o 10% - 25% (2)
o 26% - 50% (3)
o 51% - 75% (4)
o Over 75% (5)
Q6 What department do you work in?
o Accounting or Finance (1)

o Marketing (2)
o Research (3)
o Customer Service (4)
o Other (5)
Q7 How would you rank your position within the company?
o Staff (1)
o Supervisor (2)
o Manager (3)
o Director (4)
o Administrator (5)
o Other (6)
Q8 How would you rate the extent of use of the following technologies in your
department?
RPA
o Not used at all (1)

o Used rarely (2)
o Used occasionally (3)
o Used frequently (4)
o Used daily (5)
o I am not familiar with this (6)
department?
AI (Artificial Intelligence)

o Used rarely (2)
o Used daily (5)
department?
Data Analysis

o Used rarely (2)
o Used daily (5)
Q11 How strongly would you agree with the following statement?
RPA positively influences financial reporting.
o Strongly disagree (1)

o Disagree (2)
o Neither agree nor disagree (3)
o Agree (4)
o I am not familiar with RPA (5)
Artificial Intelligence positively influences financial reporting.

o Disagree (2)
o Agree (4)
o I am not familiar with Artificial Intelligence (5)
Data analytics positively influences financial reporting.

o Disagree (2)
o Agree (4)
o I am not familiar with Data Analytics (5)
I am almost an expert with this company's accounting and financial technologies.

o Disagree (2)
o Agree (4)
o Strongly agree (5)
I believe that the more experienced I am with this company's accounting and financial
technologies, the faster I will get a promotion.

o Disagree (2)
o Agree (4)
I am afraid that if I don't master this company's accounting and financial technologies, that I
will be terminated.

o Disagree (2)
o Agree (4)
Robotics technology will be sufficiently intelligent to substitute skilled accountants in the next
10-20 years.

o Disagree (2)
o Agree (4)
Advanced automation will guarantee the information quality in the accounting sector.

o Disagree (2)
o Agree (4)
I am extremely motivated to learn this company's accounting and finance software programs.

o Disagree (2)
o Agree (4)
I am extremely confident that I will learn this company's accounting and finance software programs
within the time allowed.

o Disagree (2)
o Agree (4)
I am extremely concerned that one day my position will be eliminated, and I will be replaced by
a new technology.
Strongly disagree
Disagree
Neither agree nor disagree
Agree
Strongly agree
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THE EFFECT OF AUTOMATION ON EMPLOYMENT WITHIN THE ACCOUNTING

Research · October 2021

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INDUSTRY: A CASE STUDY IN DELOITTE SAN FRANCISCO

Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the

School of Management and Leadership

Alliant International University

In partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Business Administration

Saeed Taha, M.A.

Dr. Hamid Rahmani, Ph.D. Chairperson

Dr. Huiyu Qian, Ph.D.

knowledge on the effects of automation on current and future employment of human

technological advancements and adoption to automate diverse operational functions. Evidently,

mining, robotics, and AI to sustain their employability, productivity, and effectiveness.

Acknowledgement ......................................................................................................................... iii

List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. vi

CHAPTER I. Background Information ......................................................................................... 1

CHAPTER II. Literature Review.................................................................................................... 6

Technologies Employed in Accounting .............................................................................. 6

Artificial Intelligence .............................................................................................. 6

Intelligent Agents .................................................................................................... 8

Effect of Automation on Accounting Operations ............................................................... 9

Increasing the Speed of Financial Reporting .......................................................... 9

Enhanced Accuracy of Financial Data .................................................................. 11

Processing of Contract Reviews ........................................................................... 12

Effect of Automation on Employment in Accounting Field ............................................. 13

Problem Statement ............................................................................................................ 18

CHAPTER III. Methodology ....................................................................................................... 21

Research Objective and Questions.................................................................................... 21

Study Variables ................................................................................................................. 22

Target Population .............................................................................................................. 24

Sampling and Sample Size Calculation ............................................................................ 24

Demographic Characteristics ............................................................................................ 25

Data Collection ................................................................................................................. 27

Data Analysis .................................................................................................................... 28

CHAPTER IV. Results ................................................................................................................ 30

Descriptive Analysis ......................................................................................................... 30

Correlational Analysis ...................................................................................................... 36

CHAPTER V. Discussion ............................................................................................................ 38

Interpretation of the Findings ........................................................................................... 38

Implications for Theory and Research ............................................................................. 46

Implications for Practice ................................................................................................... 47

Limitations and Recommendations................................................................................... 48

APPENDIX A: Institutional Review Board Approval Letter ....................................................... 62

APPENDIX B: Letter of Authorization to Conduct Research at Deloitte .................................... 64

APPENDIX C: Questionnaire ...................................................................................................... 67

Table 1. Frequencies and Percentages of Demographic Characteristics ..................................... 26

Table 2. Frequencies and Percentages of Rating on Extent of Use Technologies ...................... 31

Table 3. Frequencies and Percentages of Agreement to Statements on Use of Techologies ....... 33

Table 4. Spearman’s Correlation Analysis................................................................................... 36

robots, desktop manufacturing, three-dimensional (3D) printing, and virtual assistants

impacts on productivity, especially on the probability of technology to replace human labor.

opportunities for those losing their jobs.

regards to measurable effects, product innovation tends to be labor-friendly. In contrast, process

effectiveness is reliant on fundamental aspects within socioeconomic and organizational

Matuzeviciute et al. (2017) assessed a panel of data from twenty-five European

Unexpectedly, the outcomes of the regression exhibited no significant effect of computerization

workforce’s share of value-addition where straightforward work-substitution outcomes are

authors interviewed accounting experts of international public accounting companies to establish