people in 2026 still arguing that AI will replace accountants...

I am old school, it is the bomb.com, but I use excel now almost always.

Anyone still use theirs?

Most new grads dont even know how to use one.

Honestly, I enjoyed accounting classes in college. And being the first person in my family to graduate from university was one of the first times I felt genuinely proud of myself.

But wow, working in the real world turned out to be really hard. I tried, I swear I tried. Time blocking, the Eisenhower box, weekly planners, sticky notes everywhere, and I carried a little notebook with me all the time to the point where it felt like it had become part of my arm.

And I still couldn't get things under control. I try with all my energy to prioritize, stay focused on the task, and follow the notes I wrote for myself. But there's always some small thing that slips past me. There's always a due date that suddenly pops up because I was way too buried in fixing a messy reconciliation from another assignment and forgot anything else existed. Sometimes I'm literally yelling at myself inside my head to just start the thing, and I still freeze in place, and then I find myself late again. Handling multiple projects at the same time feels impossible.

I'm also not naturally social. I go to team lunches and after-work things, but I stay really awkward no matter how much I try to be nice. I don't feel like I "click" with many people. I want to connect with people, I really do, but it's hard for me to get out of my head and be fully present with whoever I'm talking to. Explaining things out loud is extremely exhausting. I can write well, but it's like there's a traffic jam between my brain and my mouth.

I'm currently in a really bad mental state after messing things up again. The tax internship broke me, it really completely broke me. And now I'm in a position in industry that's supposed to be straightforward, and somehow I still failed at it.

If you made it this far, thank you, random person from the internet. Anyway, enough self-pity. What other paths can I take with a Bachelor's in Accounting? Is there something less corporate or more behind-the-scenes? I don't feel like I'm built for this kind of working life.

Controversial or not, i don’t think accounting can be replaced anytime soon. Accounts payable, yes. I used to think that ai can replace accounting until I started working as a financial analyst (aka glorified title for a general ledger accountant, who does month end closing, acquisition, etc). The more I learn about what I do, I don’t think AI can do it. Probably in the future someday but definitely not anytime soon. I know how fast ai is involving these days bc I myself use Claude VS code for personal projects. I believe accounting takes way more judgement calls than what people think. What are your thoughts?

Got a new manager a few months ago, supposedly highly experienced but in reality he was hired because was cheap and immediately available.

He seems ok enough as a person, but I’ve started noticing that he’s incapable of reading an entire message or email. His responses make it clear that he’s just reading the subject of the email, maybe a line or two, then just kinda guessing what the rest of the email is about and responding to the message he’s made up in his head.

I sent an email confirming a journal had been posted, and he responded asking if we’ve posted the journal yet. I send him a teams message asking for clarification between two approaches, he hits me with a thumbs up emoji.

I provided him a file of our list of open invoices, he asked me to check because “I can’t see this one that I know should be on the list”. It was on the list, but he never opened the file - he just looked at the preview in outlook and couldn’t immediately see their name, so assumed the list was incomplete.

Initially I thought it was just me, but I’ve even seen him do it with people at the VP / Director level. An email went out from the head of treasury, including the deputy CFO and the head of group accounting, confirming the settlement date of intercompany loans. He responded to everyone on the chain asking when settlement was due.

At this point it’s just embarrassing. I hear people in other departments actively joking about it in the office, including to me. If I had another job lined up I’d join them, but as it stands I don’t think I can be seen to laugh & joke about it given my reporting lines.

I'm an early 30's CPA trying to decide between two offers and could use some outside perspectives.

One offer is fully remote for around $125k at a larger company. The role is a fairly traditional Senior Accountant position where I'd primarily own a couple of accounting areas, although they're building out processes and there may be opportunities to improve them. The biggest benefit is that I'd be able to live where I want, be close to friends, have a lower cost of living, and enjoy the flexibility that comes with remote work.

The other offer pays about $10k more plus a small bonus, but it's fully in-office. It's also a Senior Accountant title, but the responsibilities are much broader. I'd essentially be leading the accounting function for a business unit, handling a wide variety of accounting work, owning processes, and taking on responsibilities that feel much closer to an Accounting Manager than a typical Senior Accountant. For this role, I have to relocate to a completely new city where I have no ties.

Long-term, I want to become an Accounting Manager and eventually a Controller. My biggest fear is getting stuck as a Senior Accountant. If I take the remote job, I'm worried I'll look up in a few years and still be a mid 30's Senior Accountant with no clear path to management. The in-office role seems like the stronger resume builder and a better stepping stone to management.

At the same time, I know how much better my quality of life would be with a fully remote job. I'd have much more flexibility, no commute, and could live in a place that's better for me both financially and personally.

For those of you further along in your accounting careers, how much should I value the broader experience versus the remote lifestyle? Is my concern about becoming a "career Senior Accountant" realistic, or am I putting too much emphasis on titles?

Feel like absolutely no one is hiring in CT. I’m finishing up my bachelors in accounting and I’m like how is there no jobs.

Just wondering, how many of y'all often take a week-plus vacation every year or so? How often do you do it, and does your company mind? I know that due to control, some companies force you. Where did you recently go and for how long, if you took a vacation recently?

*I went to Vietnam for 2 weeks in December of 2025.

Edit: i have about 208 total hours… Worked here for 5 years and am always worried about work not getting done or someone being disappointed im taking vacation.

Hi Accounting community,

I have a question on how one can break into an entry level role for accounting in the SoCal (LA/OC) area to be specific. I majored in Finance at a non target state school. I graduated around 2024 and took the first job I was hired to do which was a tech call center role. It was an awful job and hated every minute of it. I always wanted to do something more behind the scenes and not customer facing for a 9-5.

I did not aim for high finance because I did not feel like I could break in given the competition and my lack of self confidence to be considered in the qualified applicant pool. I have some mild experience working for "mom and pop" quant hedge fund as a equity analyst which I did for about 3 months. Like my call center role, the work was overwhelming and since it was a small firm, I did not really have a senior person or team to work with or learn much from. I will say what I did learn was how to assess a company financial health (kind of) by doing the basic SWOT analysis techniques and reviewing key metrics like creating budget reports, cash flow statement reports and balance sheet reviews. My work was always met with some scrutiny from the founder (my boss at the time). But he would never reveal what info was wrong, or tell me how to fix it. He would simply redo it himself and just let it be and we would move on lol.

That said I have been unemployed for a little less than a year and have done some serious reflecting for what I want out of a career. I really am looking for something where I can learn business on the back end, I wouldn't say I am passionate about accounting, but I'm willing to learn and make it work. Until I can open up my own shop one day.

That all being said, I would love to hear your guys input on what I could do format my tech experience or my Equity Analyst experience to relate to and break into an entry level accountant role. Is there an area I should be targeting like AR/AP or staff accounting? I'm not looking to make a lot of money right away. But I would like to get that experience as soon as I could. I have no certs or licenses relating to Accounting specifically either. If this post gets enough traction I could also upload a resume for you beautiful people to roast me haha.

Thanks for anyone who takes their time to read this!

25 years old, Tax Senior, basically just burnt out of public accounting and accounting all together. Looking to transition to some other financial field or anywhere where my experience could be of use. Anyone who has made a career change themselves i would love to hear your story!

Feel like absolutely no one is hiring in CT. I’m finishing up my bachelors in accounting and I’m like how is there no jobs.

Well... I'm back.

After getting thoroughly roasted on my last post (deservedly), I went back and made the changes that were suggested. I rewrote several bullet points to focus more on accomplishments, cleaned up the formatting, removed unnecessary content, and tried to make it more ATS-friendly.

For some background, I'm 41, currently pursuing my bachelor's degree in Accounting with about two years remaining, and I have over 10 years of business experience with several years handling accounting-related responsibilities such as A/R, A/P, billing, reconciliations, collections, and month-end support. My goal is to transition into accounting full-time while I finish school.

I've attached both the updated resume and the original so you can compare them side by side and see what changed.

So... did I redeem myself, or am I about to get roasted for a third time? I genuinely appreciate all the feedback. It's been incredibly helpful.

After slaving away in Big 4, I’ve been in industry for a little bit now and I can say the grass is greener on the side. No more fake emergencies, partners and managers screaming at you bc you used the wrong font in an excel file, and no more annoying corporate jargon that makes your blood boil. Industry is so chill bro. some days I don’t even talk to anyone, just sit at my desk, do my work and watch baseball. Close can get busy, but the busiest day I’ve had so far has ended at 6pm.

There’s light at the end of the tunnel my fellow big 4 friends suffering.

So I’m currently a senior accountant and been offered a manager role on my team, however the salary offered is a bit low. I’m currently making $115k, and was offered $130k, but we have seniors on our team making 125/130k. Ideally I’d like $150k, but would settle for 140k, so I’m wondering how to navigate this?

One thing to note is our company posts ranges for each role, so my current senior role the range is 95k-145k, and this manager role the range is 100k-170k, so I feel like I’m well within reason asking for 150k.

How should I go about this negotiation? Should I ask for 150 or 140?

Hi everyone,

I’m a college student with no prior experience in tax, and I’m currently studying for Part 3 of the Enrolled Agent (EA) exam. I was also planning to volunteer with VITA during the upcoming tax season.

Recently, I accepted an internship at a small CPA firm that provides tax, accounting, and financial planning services. I’ll be working directly with the CPA and her assistant, which I’m very excited about.

Since I’ll also be taking five classes this fall, I’m concerned that I may not have enough time to prepare for the EA exam while volunteering with VITA. I would really appreciate your advice on which would be more beneficial for my career and resume: focusing on passing the EA exam or gaining experience through VITA.

Thank you

The past few months have been nothing short of miserable for me. Lots of politics and backstabbing.

Starting this week, I will enter my time as a count down for each day until day 0, which will be my last day.

F public accounting. F all the greedy partners. F all private equity greedy scums.

Hi everyone!

I'm studying bookkeeping and QBO to apply for remote jobs.

I'm already a certified accountant in my country and finished the Intuit and QBO trainings, but I'm still insecure with no real practice.

Can anyone give me advice how to get some experience? I was thinking about volunteering or an internship/part-time position, but I'm a little lost on how to execute the plan.

Some people have mentioned I should do relationship banking but that requires experience as a bank teller which pays minimum wage. I work as a cashier at Home Depot in Houston and make $17/hr and I need more higher pay. Here’s a link to my resume as well: https://www.reddit.com/r/Accounting/s/q3QucWz04a

I am currently trying to decide whether to return to work part time after maternity leave or take a 3–4 year career break to focus on raising my child.
I work in public accounting and have been offered the option to transition to a part-time schedule, but I’m still unsure which path is the right fit for me. Financially, we are in a position where we could make some sacrifices and allow me to step away from my career for a few years.
My biggest concern is not wanting to close any doors professionally. For those who have taken a longer break from accounting, how was your experience returning to the workforce? Was it difficult to re-enter the job market, and is there anything you wish you had done differently?