‘People are going to walk in the door and almost instantaneously become…,’ says Jenn Kosar, AI assurance leader at PwC on junior hires
Junior accountants at PwC will be performing manager-level responsibilities within three years as artificial intelligence takes over routine audit tasks, according to the firm’s AI assurance leader. New hires will immediately step into supervisory roles, overseeing AI systems that handle data gathering and processing work traditionally done by entry-level employees.“Three years from now, we will feel like the first years are functioning more like fourth years,” Jenn Kosar told Business Insider in a recent interview. “We will look back and say, ‘Okay, these young people feel more like the managers of my day.'”
Big Four firms reshape training as AI transforms accounting industry
The transformation is forcing PwC, one of the “Big Four” accounting firms, to completely rethink how it trains junior employees. Rather than teaching new hires to execute basic audit tasks, the company is now focusing on “back to basics” training that emphasizes fundamental audit principles and critical thinking skills.Entry-level workers are receiving earlier training in professional skepticism, negotiation, and advanced analytical skills—capabilities previously reserved for later career stages. The shift reflects AI’s ability to handle repetitive work while freeing human employees for higher-value activities.
Technology challenges traditional consulting business models
The AI revolution extends beyond junior roles, with senior positions also facing disruption. Partners and managers must adapt to client requests about fully automating certain business functions, Kosar explained in the Business Insider interview.Traditional hourly billing models are under pressure as clients question paying premium rates for work that AI can complete instantly. Former PwC UK partner Alan Paton previously noted that automation is causing clients to reconsider consultant fees when answers come “instantaneously from a tool.”Despite concerns about AI replacing jobs and reducing critical thinking, Kosar believes the technology will create better-informed professionals who develop faster. PwC’s “assurance for AI” product, launched in June, helps clients operate AI systems responsibly while the firm adapts its century-old practices to an automated future.
