Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks: AI exposure and career outlook
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks (SOC 43-3031) sit at the 86th percentile for measured AI exposure among the 342 occupations tracked here, measured from a composite of Microsoft Research and Anthropic Economic Index telemetry. An estimated 58% of tasks are already automated and 76% are being reshaped rather than replaced — both modelled figures, not direct measurements. Of the Claude usage observed in this occupation, 52% follows an automation pattern and 48% an augmentation pattern — close enough to even that the grouping below should be read loosely, which places it in the Displacement risk group: the routine layer of this work is being automated outright. The judgment layer is not, so the move is to own more of it. In Canada the role maps to NOC 14200 (Accounting and related clerks), and ESDC's COPS 2024–2033 outlook for that unit group is balance.
Figures last updated 2026-06. Every number on this page is labelled measured or modelled; where a source has no coverage for this occupation, it says so rather than showing a zero.
Key facts
- SOC code
- 43-3031
- Canada NOC 2021
- 14200
- TEER level
- Not available
- COPS outlook
- Balance
What the measurements actually say
Three independent studies measure AI exposure for this occupation directly. The two percentages below them are ours, modelled from those measurements.
| Metric | Value | Provenance |
|---|---|---|
| AI applicability | 24% | Measured — Microsoft Research, from 200,000 Copilot conversations classified against O*NET work activities. |
| Observed AI usage | 31% | Measured — Anthropic Economic Index, share of tasks observed being performed with Claude (CC-BY 4.0). |
| Academic AI exposure | 77th percentile | Measured — Felten-Raj-Seamans AIOE index across 774 occupations; the index underlying Statistics Canada's Canadian estimates. |
| Automation-pattern usage | 52% | Measured — the share of observed Claude usage in this occupation where the task is handed over rather than iterated on (Anthropic Economic Index). |
| Augmentation-pattern usage | 48% | Measured — the complement of the row above; the two sum to 100% by construction. This is the pattern where the person stays in the loop. |
| Estimated task automation (modelled) | 58% | Modelled from this occupation's measured telemetry composite, mapped through anchors calibrated to Anthropic's published aggregate findings. Our estimate, not per-occupation telemetry. |
| Estimated task reshaping (modelled) | 76% | Share of tasks where AI acts as co-pilot rather than replacement. Modelled from the measured telemetry composite, calibrated to BCG's published aggregate reshaping rates. Our estimate. |
This skill domain faces significant AI substitution. The opportunity is in pivoting to AI orchestration and higher-order human judgment within the domain.
In Canada: NOC 14200
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks map to NOC 14200 — Accounting and related clerks. ESDC's COPS 2024–2033 projection for this unit group is Balance.
Mapped via Statistics Canada's official SOC 2018 → NOC 2016 → NOC 2021 correspondence tables (closest match of several correspondence candidates). TEER is the second digit of the NOC code, so it is only as certain as the code is. Several correspondence candidates were available here and we took the closest by title, so we do not report a TEER level for it.
What this job actually involves
These are the O*NET task statements for Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks— the work itself, as reported by people doing the job — grouped by the work activity each task belongs to. Showing 12 of 28, core tasks first.
The exposure figures above are for the occupation as a whole. We do not have a per-task measurement: no published dataset tells us which of these specific tasks AI is doing. Read this as what the job is made of, not as a ranking of what is at risk.
6 of these 12statements do carry one measured signal: Anthropic publishes, per O*NET task, how much of the observed Claude usage on it looked like automation rather than iteration. Those are marked below. It still says how people use AI on that task, not how much of it AI can do — and the unmarked statements carry nothing rather than inheriting the occupation's figure.
Microsoft's applicability score was itself produced by classifying Copilot conversations against the O*NET work-activity catalogue — the same catalogue these groups come from. The published file gives one number per occupation, not one per activity, so we can tell you that 24% of this occupation's work activities are covered by observed AI usage, but not which ones.
Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information · 2 tasks
Perform financial calculations, such as amounts due, interest charges, balances, discounts, equity, and principal.
Core task · Importance 4.3/5 (O*NET) · 49% of observed AI use on this task is automation-pattern
Debit, credit, and total accounts on computer spreadsheets and databases, using specialized accounting software.
Core task · Importance 4.2/5 (O*NET) · 62% of observed AI use on this task is automation-pattern
Processing Information · 2 tasks
Check figures, postings, and documents for correct entry, mathematical accuracy, and proper codes.
Core task · Importance 4.7/5 (O*NET) · 53% of observed AI use on this task is automation-pattern
Reconcile or note and report discrepancies found in records.
Core task · Importance 4.3/5 (O*NET)
Working with Computers · 2 tasks
Operate computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze information.
Core task · Importance 4.8/5 (O*NET)
Code documents according to company procedures.
Core task · Importance 4.3/5 (O*NET) · 79% of observed AI use on this task is automation-pattern
Getting Information · 1 task
Access computerized financial information to answer general questions as well as those related to specific accounts.
Core task · Importance 4.2/5 (O*NET) · 75% of observed AI use on this task is automation-pattern
Monitoring Processes, Materials, or Surroundings · 1 task
Comply with federal, state, and company policies, procedures, and regulations.
Core task · Importance 4.6/5 (O*NET)
Controlling Machines and Processes · 1 task
Operate 10-key calculators, typewriters, and copy machines to perform calculations and produce documents.
Core task · Importance 4.5/5 (O*NET)
Documenting/Recording Information · 1 task
Classify, record, and summarize numerical and financial data to compile and keep financial records, using journals and ledgers or computers.
Core task · Importance 4.2/5 (O*NET) · 67% of observed AI use on this task is automation-pattern
Communicating with People Outside the Organization · 1 task
Perform general office duties, such as filing, answering telephones, and handling routine correspondence.
Core task · Importance 4.2/5 (O*NET)
Monitoring and Controlling Resources · 1 task
Receive, record, and bank cash, checks, and vouchers.
Core task · Importance 4.5/5 (O*NET)
Task statements and work activities from the O*NET Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not reviewed or approved this material.
That's the average. Is this you?
Everything above describes Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks as a whole. Three questions, and nothing is stored or sent.
Where are you in your career?
What does your week mostly look like?
Is your employer deploying AI?
Where the leverage is
Transition to high-value advisory, complex case analysis, or AI system oversight. The pivot is to move from routine execution to AI orchestration and quality assurance.
Cognitive, information-based tasks are highly exposed. Entry-level displacement pressure is high, necessitating transition to advisory and governance roles.
Upskill in AI prompt engineering, model validation, and governance. Focus on transition playbooks to pivot toward high-value advisory services.
This guidance is written per exposure band — three texts across all 342 occupations, framed on the ILO's transformation-versus-displacement distinction. It is editorial guidance for the high risk band, not an occupation-specific research finding about bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks.
Sources for this occupation
Only the sources that hold data for bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks are listed. A study that does not cover this occupation is not cited here.
- Microsoft Research — Working with AI (Tomlinson et al., arXiv:2507.07935): Measured AI applicability, from 200,000 anonymised Copilot conversations classified against O*NET work activities.
- Anthropic Economic Index: Measured observed AI usage per occupation, from Anthropic's open per-SOC dataset (CC-BY 4.0).
- Felten, Raj & Seamans — AI Occupational Exposure index: Measured academic exposure percentile; the index underlying Statistics Canada's Canadian AI-exposure estimates (Mehdi & Morissette, 2024).
- O*NET Database 31.0 (USDOL/ETA), CC BY 4.0: The occupation's task statements and work activities, verbatim. Joined on SOC 2018 with no crosswalk — O*NET-SOC is built on SOC — and carrying no claim about which tasks AI touches.
- Anthropic Economic Index — collaboration split (release 2026-06-26, CC-BY 4.0): Measured share of observed Claude usage following an automation rather than an augmentation pattern. This is the second axis of the grouping above.
- Statistics Canada NOC 2021 concordance: Official SOC 2018 → NOC 2016 V1.3 → NOC 2021 V1.0 correspondence tables. TEER is the second digit of the resolved code, so we report it only where the concordance gave a single candidate.
- ESDC COPS 2024–2033: Projected labour-market assessment per NOC 2021 unit group, from the Canadian Occupational Projection System open dataset.
- BCG — AI Will Reshape More Jobs Than It Replaces (April 3, 2026): Published aggregate reshaping rates, used to calibrate our modelled percentages. The per-occupation figures here are our estimates, not BCG's data.
What is happening to this function
This occupation is one of the Finance & Accounting roles this product is built for. The evidence across the whole function, and the case against it, is set out separately.
Finance & AccountingRelated occupations
Other roles in Management & Ops.
This is the picture for the role. What about your skills?
These numbers describe an occupation, not a person. Map your own skills against them, see which pathways stay open, and plan the transition you actually want.