JobsBig Four accounting firms cut new-accountant hiring from 1,275 to about 800: "AI takes the junior work first"

Korea's Big Four accounting firms hired 1,275 new accountants in 2022 and about 800 last year, Money Today reported on Oct. 31. They plan about 880 this year, still below 2022. Recession and lower turnover matter, and so does AI. Samjong KPMG applied AI to a large company's internal accounting and automated over 60% of 500-plus control tasks; evaluations that took thousands of hours dropped to tens.

Overseas figures were cited: Stanford's Digital Economy Lab found that as of June, employment of 22-25 year-olds in AI-exposed jobs was 19% lower than in less exposed ones. PwC's analysis of 2.4 million US entry-level postings found AI-exposed roles were seven times more likely to ask for leadership and creativity once required of experienced hires. The Bank of Korea said in August that 285,000 jobs for ages 15-29 disappeared in four years, 94% of them in AI-exposed industries.