Generative AI to replace 46% of time spent on accounting tasks in India

NEW DELHI: Generative AI has the potential to automate 46 per cent of time spent on accounting tasks in India by 2032, a new report showed on Monday.

About 30 per cent or more of the time spent on tasks involved in some white-collar roles (like accountants, bookkeeping clerks, word processor operators, administrative secretaries, stall/market salespersons) could be done by generative AI.

In comparison, less than 1 per cent of a blue-collar workers’ job (like weavers, knitters, waiters, bakers/cooks etc) in a working week could be done by generative AI, according to a report by learning company Pearson.

Many administrative roles contain repetitive tasks -- such as scheduling appointments or answering and directing calls - that can be easily replicated by generative AI. This trend is especially notable in India, where the report highlights a significant 29 per cent difference in the task-level impact between the most affected white-collar and blue-collar jobs.

In India, the most impacted job is accounting and book-keeping (46 per cent), followed by word processors and related operators (40 per cent).

“As employees look to the future, understanding which jobs are at risk from AI allows them to prepare. They should also consider where new roles might be created by Gen AI. Workers and employers should look at how they can ride this wave of change by using the best of AI and the best of human skills together,” said Mike Howells, President, Pearson Workforce Skills.

The least impacted jobs in India are working proprietors, directors and executives in transport and communication and sales and marketing managers. The latest Pearson’s ‘Skills Outlook’ series looked at the impact of generative AI on more than 5,000 jobs in five countries -- Australia, Brazil, India, the US and the UK.