Will AI replace auditors? The federal outlook and what audit AI does
BLS doesn't publish separate projections for auditors; they're counted with accountants, an occupation projected to grow 5 percent from 2025 to 2035. The Occupational Outlook Handbook says some routine tasks may be automated as AI spreads, but that this isn't expected to reduce overall demand. Here is the data, and how AI audit tools describe their work.
Key points
- A growing occupation
- Accountants and auditors held 1,595,200 jobs in 2025; BLS projects 1,674,600 by 2035, up 79,400 or 5 percent, faster than average.
- Openings
- About 115,300 openings a year are projected, many from replacing people who retire or change occupations.
- What BLS says about AI
- Some routine tasks may be automated as AI and other technologies spread, but BLS says "this change is not expected to reduce overall demand."
- No AI adjustment
- BLS's table of occupation-specific adjustments projects automation-driven decreases for claims adjusters, insurance underwriters and loan officers, but lists no adjustment for accountants and auditors.
The BLS numbers for accountants and auditors
BLS counts auditors together with accountants in one occupation (SOC code 13-2011). Figures are from the 2025 to 2035 projections released on August 27, 2026; pay is from May 2025.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Jobs, 2025 | 1,595,200 |
| Projected jobs, 2035 | 1,674,600 |
| Change, 2025 to 2035 | +79,400 (+5%, faster than average) |
| Openings a year, on average | 115,300 |
| Median pay, May 2025 | $83,680 a year ($40.23 an hour) |
| Pay range | Lowest 10% earned less than $56,020; highest 10% more than $144,090 |
| Self-employed share, 2025 | 5.5% |
| Typical entry-level education | Bachelor's degree |
| Industry | Median annual pay |
|---|---|
| Finance and insurance | $93,290 |
| Management of companies and enterprises | $91,940 |
| Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals | $83,350 |
| Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping and payroll services | $81,490 |
Government tax examiners and revenue agents, who review returns for tax agencies, are a separate occupation: 60,100 jobs in 2025, projected to decline 1 percent by 2035. BLS ties that occupation's employment mainly to government budgets (BLS (opens in a new tab)).
What BLS says about AI and audit work
The Handbook entry for accountants and auditors (opens in a new tab) addresses AI directly:
- “Some routine accounting tasks may be automated as platforms such as cloud computing, artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchain become more widespread.”
- “Although these technologies will likely increase accountants' efficiency, this change is not expected to reduce overall demand.”
- “The automation of routine tasks, such as data entry, will instead make accountants' advisory and analytical duties more prominent.”
- “Accountants and auditors may use technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics process automation, to increase their productivity.”
BLS also publishes a table of specific adjustments (opens in a new tab) it makes to its projections. For nearby business occupations it projects falling employment shares tied to technology: claims adjusters (software and AI), auto damage insurance appraisers (software and AI), insurance underwriters (automated underwriting systems) and loan officers (automated systems). The table has no adjustment row for accountants and auditors.
What AI audit tools do
Audit AI tools test transactions, extract evidence from documents, map trial balances and draft workpapers and disclosures. Here is how the audit tools in the directory describe review:
| How the vendor describes review | Tools |
|---|---|
| A person reviews before output takes effect | 8 |
| Customer sets rules for what skips review | 0 |
| Processes without review by default | 0 |
| Not described by the vendor | 1 |
| Tools listed | 9 |
| Tool | What its documentation says |
|---|---|
| MindBridgeAudit | Scores every transaction and journal entry with statistical models, rules and unsupervised machine learning to flag anomalies, duplicates and exceptions, with explanations |
| InfloAudit | Analyzes full transaction populations extracted from client accounting systems, with automated sampling |
| DataSnipperAudit | Alwin agents run multi-step audit and finance procedures, collecting evidence, verifying data and returning workpapers tied to source documents |
| FieldguideAudit | Field Auditor agent runs audit testing and checks evidence as client documents arrive |
| CasewareAudit | Disclosure Checklist Agent (Caseware Verity) suggests checklist answers against the financial statements, with citations reviewers can check |
| CoCounsel Audit & AccountingAudit | Helps draft workpapers, memos and disclosure checklists, working with Excel and PDF files |
The audit report is still issued by the auditor. The Handbook notes that any accountant who files a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission is required to be a licensed CPA, and CPAs are licensed by their state's Board of Accountancy. Compare tools in AI audit software.
What changes for auditors
- More of the population, less manual ticking. Tools such as MindBridge and Inflo document analyzing full transaction populations; the auditor decides what the flagged items mean.
- Evidence links matter. Tools that tie each figure to a source document change how workpapers are reviewed; reviewers check the link, not just the number.
- Judgment stays with the engagement team. Materiality, conclusions on evidence and the opinion remain the auditor's responsibility, whatever software assembled the file.
- Reviewing AI output is a skill. Knowing the standards well enough to catch a confident mistake is what makes AI-drafted work usable.
Will AI replace auditors?: questions
- Will AI replace auditors?
- BLS doesn't project that. Accountants and auditors, which BLS counts together, are projected to grow 5 percent from 2025 to 2035, adding about 79,400 jobs. The Handbook says AI may automate routine tasks but that the change is not expected to reduce overall demand.
- Will AI replace internal auditors?
- BLS doesn't publish separate figures for internal auditors; they're part of the accountants and auditors occupation projected to grow 5 percent through 2035. AI tools change how testing is done, but the conclusions are still the internal audit team's.
- How much do auditors make?
- BLS reports a median annual wage of $83,680 for accountants and auditors in May 2025. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $56,020 and the highest 10 percent more than $144,090. Among the top industries employing them, pay was highest in finance and insurance, at a median of $93,290.
- Do auditors need to be CPAs?
- Not for all roles, but the Handbook says any accountant who files a report with the Securities and Exchange Commission is required to be a licensed CPA. CPAs are licensed by their state's Board of Accountancy.
- What can AI do in an audit?
- Tools in the directory document scoring transactions and journal entries for risk, analyzing full populations, extracting data from documents into workpapers, mapping trial balances and drafting disclosure checklists. See AI audit software.
Sources
Official documents read on October 15, 2026. Vendor facts are sourced on each listing.
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Accountants and Auditors
- BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.2: Occupational projections and worker characteristics, 2025-35
- BLS Employment Projections, Table 1.12: Factors affecting occupational utilization, 2025-35
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook: Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents