Star Journal d'information en ligne 
When I tell people I’m studying accountancy, many of them laugh. “Robots will take your job,” they say. I used to worry about that. Not anymore.
I’m training to become a chartered accountant. Every day I see how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is changing my work. And honestly, it’s more exciting than scary.
What AI does for us
Think about the boring parts of accounting: inputting data from invoices, matching bank statements, checking hundreds of lines in a spreadsheet. These tasks used to take hours. Today, AI tools can read an invoice, sort the data and flag exceptions in a few minutes.
But AI is not perfect. It does not understand a client’s situation, and it cannot judge what is right or wrong. Someone still has to check the answers and ask: “Does this make sense?” That someone is me.
Committed to AI
I feel lucky to train with a firm that is embracing technology and AI. Many young people only hear about AI on social media. I get to see it used in real life.
My firm does not just talk about AI. It helps clients decide whether, and how to use it. Before suggesting any tool, the team reviews the client’s processes in depth, especially the ones that are very tedious. The daily paperwork, the repeated checks, the reports that take days to prepare and reconcile. Then they ask a simple question: “Where could AI really help, and where should people stay in charge?”
I have sat in some of these meetings. I have seen how business owners went from “I don’t know if AI is for me” to “Now I understand where to start.” That is a powerful moment.
Sometimes the answer is to use AI right away. Sometimes it is to fix the process first. Good advice is not about following trends. It is about understanding the business and the people in the business.
Learning this early on is a huge advantage. I am not only learning accounting rules. I am learning how to think about change.
What I have learned
Firstly, AI is a tool, not a replacement. A calculator or cloud accounting did not end accountants, and AI will not either.
Secondly, human skills matter more than ever. Explaining numbers clearly, building trust with clients, and using good judgment are things no machine does as well as a person.
Thirdly, we must keep learning. The accountant of tomorrow (or today!) will need to be comfortable with technology. Those who learn to work with AI will be ahead.
A message to other students
If you are studying accountancy or thinking about it, don’t be afraid. Be curious. Try the tools. Ask questions. Find a workplace that welcomes new ideas and lets you learn.
AI will change our profession, that is certain. But I believe it will make us better advisors, not unnecessary ones. Less time on boring tasks means more time to help people and businesses grow.
My friends still joke about the robots. I just smile. I know the future of accounting is not humans against machines. It is humans and machines working together, and I am happy to be part of it.
Haadiya Badat is an Audit Associate with MMW LLP.
By Haadiya Badat
