Accountants spend more than peers on AI, Moore Global finds

Accountants have spent $1.6m (£1.25m) on AI in the past year compared with the $480k (£376k) spent on AI by law firms and other professional services, according to the latest research by Moore Global and the Centre for Economics and Business Research. 

This means that accountancy firms have spent almost four-times as much implementing AI systems in the past year as law firms and other professional services organisations, the research found. 

Meanwhile, only 2% of accounting and finance businesses said they saw no role for AI over the coming three years – a stark contrast to law and professional services firms, where 7% of respondents see no immediate need for the technology.

Some 72% of respondents in accounting and finance said they expect the use of AI within their organisation to grow over the next three years and beyond. This is said to be above the average for all industries of 65% in this survey, which is considerably higher than the equivalent figure for law and other professional services at 43%.

In addition, accountants are not concerned about the impact of AI on jobs, with only 20% of accounting and finance businesses investing in AI specifically to reduce their payroll and headcount. 

Anton Colella, CEO of Moore Global, said: “It is clear from our latest research that accountants are light years ahead of their counterparts in the law and other professional services when it comes to cutting-edge advances in AI. 

“It is our view that, in the very near future, AI will be looked upon in the same light as other indispensable tools like email or a smartphone. Our profession clearly agrees with us.”

The survey was conducted among a representative sample of 1,858 senior decision makers in businesses with at least 250 employees in Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, the Netherlands, South Africa, Spain, the UAE, UK, and the US.