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In recent years, advances in technology, particularly generative AI, have begun to reshape the way we work. Accounting is no exception. Tasks that once required significant manual effort, such as processing invoices, preparing journal entries, and reconciling data, can increasingly be streamlined or automated with AI and other digital tools.

This raises an interesting question. If technology continues to advance, will companies eventually need fewer people to manage their accounting operations? And if so, will the role of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) also become less important?

We believe the opposite may be true.

As more routine work becomes automated, the question of what people should be responsible for becomes increasingly important. At the same time, the role expected of accounting BPO providers is also beginning to change.

Accounting has traditionally involved a significant amount of routine work. Reviewing invoices, entering information into accounting systems, preparing journal entries based on transaction details, and reconciling different sets of data are all familiar examples.

Tasks that are repetitive and governed by relatively clear rules are naturally well suited to automation.

In practice, however, accounting does not consist entirely of transactions that can be handled by predetermined rules. Companies regularly encounter situations that require professional judgment. How should a transaction that has never occurred before be accounted for? Does an unusual supporting document require further confirmation? Does a particular transaction require consideration not only from an accounting perspective but also from a tax perspective?

These situations are part of everyday accounting operations.

As AI takes on more routine tasks, people will be able to spend less time on manual processing. At the same time, however, they will increasingly be expected to review whether the results produced by AI are reasonable, identify issues that require further consideration, and make or support the final judgment.

In other words, the spread of AI does not necessarily mean that people will become unnecessary. Rather, their role is likely to shift from simply processing information to reviewing, thinking, and making judgments.

One important characteristic of accounting operations is the number of exceptions that arise in practice.

Even within the same company, new situations constantly emerge as the business changes. A company may enter into a contract with a new type of customer, launch a new service, reorganize its business, or begin conducting transactions across borders. Even transactions that appear similar at first glance may require different accounting or tax treatment depending on their contractual terms and underlying circumstances.

Accounting is also about more than producing the correct numbers. Being able to explain why a particular accounting treatment has been applied is equally important.

Management, other internal departments, auditors, tax advisors, and overseas headquarters may all require explanations, but the information they need and the way it should be communicated will not necessarily be the same.

Handling these situations requires an understanding not only of individual transactions, but also of the company’s business, its past practices, and the context in which decisions are made.

AI capabilities will undoubtedly continue to improve. But as they do, the ability of professionals to use AI appropriately, review its output, deal with exceptions, and explain the reasoning behind decisions is also likely to become increasingly important.

Traditionally, BPO has often been understood as outsourcing work that was previously performed internally. Tasks such as data entry, reconciliation, and bookkeeping were transferred from an in-house accounting team to an external service provider.

As automation advances, however, the value of BPO can no longer be measured simply by how much manual work a provider can perform on behalf of a client.

Increasingly, the challenge will be to combine technology and human expertise effectively: using technology to make routine processes more efficient while relying on professionals for judgment, exception handling, review, and communication.

Achieving this balance is not necessarily easy for a company to do on its own. Introducing a new system does not automatically result in an efficient accounting operation. Companies first need to understand their existing processes, determine which activities can be standardized or automated, establish rules for handling exceptions, and clarify where human review remains necessary.

These processes also need to evolve as regulations, systems, and the company’s own business change.

BPO providers therefore need to evolve as well. Their role will increasingly be not simply to provide additional manpower, but to combine technology with accounting and tax expertise and help clients build and maintain effective accounting operations.

This represents an important shift: from outsourcing tasks to supporting the operation and improvement of an accounting function.

AI will undoubtedly continue to change accounting. Many routine tasks currently performed by people are likely to become increasingly automated, and both corporate accounting departments and BPO providers will need to adapt.

However, the purpose of accounting is not simply to enter data or create journal entries.

A reliable accounting function also requires an understanding of the business behind the transactions, the ability to determine the appropriate treatment, awareness of unusual or potentially problematic situations, and the ability to explain the results to the people who need that information.

The important question, therefore, is not whether companies should choose AI or people, but how they can make the best use of both.

Tasks that can be efficiently handled by AI and other technologies should be automated wherever appropriate. At the same time, human expertise should be focused on areas where judgment, communication, professional knowledge, and the ability to respond to exceptions add the greatest value.

At EPCS, we believe that BPO should be more than simply performing tasks on behalf of our clients. Its broader purpose is to create an environment in which clients can focus their resources on the areas of their business where they can create the most value.

Technology will continue to evolve, but that fundamental purpose will remain the same.

In fact, as AI becomes more capable, one of the most important roles of a BPO partner may be to help companies answer a deceptively simple question:

What should we automate, and where do we still need people?

Finding the right balance between the two will be an increasingly important part of building an efficient, reliable, and sustainable accounting function.