Deloitte will overhaul how it trains junior auditors as advances in technology render much of the entry-level work they previously did unnecessary.
The life of a junior auditor typically involves a lot of repetitive tasks, such as sending confirmation letters or preparing data. But due to improvements in artificial intelligence, a great deal of this work can now be automated, according to the Big Four accounting firm.
From September, audit and assurance staff joining Deloitte’s UK business will be given extra training in “transferable skills” such as communication and problem-solving, and will be taught how to use AI tools in an effort to better prepare them for life as a modern auditor and help them deal with clients.
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Deloitte’s juniors will also sit 12 out of the 14 associate chartered accountant (ACA) exams in their first year at the firm, whereas previously the exams would be spread over three years.
To achieve this, they will be given more “study days” — 135 compared to 113 now — where they are not expected to do any other work. These combined measures, the firm hopes, will allow them to get to grips with audit work uninterrupted in their second and third years.
Allee Bonnard, managing partner for audit and assurance at Deloitte, said the changes meant joiners would “get the right training upfront and then get to work on more interesting work earlier on in their careers”.
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The firm’s new approach echoes similar moves across the professional services sector, which is rapidly adapting to the dawn of the AI age. KPMG, for instance, is training junior consultants to manage teams of AI agents to create slides and analyse data for them.
Improving the “human skills” of graduates is also a concern. PwC, for instance, has begun giving young staff training in resilience to help them handle workplace challenges such as negative feedback from clients.
Deloitte is one of the UK’s biggest employers of young people, taking on about 1,500 graduates and apprentices every year.
However, many professional services firms are cutting how many junior staff they take on. According to the Institute of Student Employers, the number of graduate roles dropped by 8 per cent last year and is predicted to fall by a further 7 per cent this year. Deloitte’s intake has shrunk from more than 1,700 in 2023.
At the same time, applications have soared. Recently, the boss of Grant Thornton UK told The Sunday Times that the accounting firm was dealing with a flood of AI-written applications, spurring it to cap the number it considers and to close job ads earlier.