Latest news with #JennKosar
Time of India
10-08-2025
- Business
- Time of India
‘People are going to walk in the door and almost instantaneously become…,' says Jenn Kosar, AI assurance leader at PwC on junior hires
Junior accountants at PwC will be performing manager-level responsibilities within three years as artificial intelligence takes over routine audit tasks, according to the firm's AI assurance leader. New hires will immediately step into supervisory roles, overseeing AI systems that handle data gathering and processing work traditionally done by entry-level employees. "Three years from now, we will feel like the first years are functioning more like fourth years," Jenn Kosar told Business Insider in a recent interview. "We will look back and say, 'Okay, these young people feel more like the managers of my day.'" Big Four firms reshape training as AI transforms accounting industry The transformation is forcing PwC, one of the "Big Four" accounting firms, to completely rethink how it trains junior employees. Rather than teaching new hires to execute basic audit tasks, the company is now focusing on "back to basics" training that emphasizes fundamental audit principles and critical thinking skills. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like They Were So Beautiful Before; Now Look At Them; Number 10 Will Shock You Reportingly Undo Entry-level workers are receiving earlier training in professional skepticism, negotiation, and advanced analytical skills—capabilities previously reserved for later career stages. The shift reflects AI's ability to handle repetitive work while freeing human employees for higher-value activities. Technology challenges traditional consulting business models The AI revolution extends beyond junior roles, with senior positions also facing disruption. Partners and managers must adapt to client requests about fully automating certain business functions, Kosar explained in the Business Insider interview. Traditional hourly billing models are under pressure as clients question paying premium rates for work that AI can complete instantly. Former PwC UK partner Alan Paton previously noted that automation is causing clients to reconsider consultant fees when answers come "instantaneously from a tool." Despite concerns about AI replacing jobs and reducing critical thinking, Kosar believes the technology will create better-informed professionals who develop faster. PwC's "assurance for AI" product, launched in June, helps clients operate AI systems responsibly while the firm adapts its century-old practices to an automated future. How WhatsApp's New Security Features Will Protect You From Scams AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now
Yahoo
08-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
PwC is training junior accountants to be like managers, because AI is going to be doing the entry-level work
AI is redefining entry-level jobs. In three years, junior accountants will be doing the jobs of managers, PwC AI leader Jenn Kosar said. She told Business Insider that the tech is making the firm go "back to basics" in how it trains young accountants. Think you can do your boss's job? If you're a junior accountant, you might soon find out. New hires at PwC will be doing the roles that managers are doing within three years, because they will be overseeing AI performing routine, repetitive audit tasks, Jenn Kosar, AI assurance leader at PwC, told Business Insider in an interview. "People are going to walk in the door almost instantaneously becoming reviewers and supervisors," she said. PwC, one of the "Big Four" accounting and consulting firms, is deploying AI to take over tasks like data gathering and processing. This is leaving entry-level employees free to focus on "more advanced and value-added work," Kosar said. "Three years from now, we will feel like the first years are functioning more like fourth years," she said. "We will look back and say, 'Okay, these young people feel more like the managers of my day.'" AI has got PwC rethinking how it trains junior employees Kosar said the technology meant PwC was changing how it trains its junior employees, adding that entry-level workers have to know how to review and supervise the AI's work. Where the Big Four firm once focused on teaching young employees to execute audit tasks, it's now focused on more "back to basics" training and the fundamentals of what an audit should do for a client, she said. There's more time in the programming to teach junior employees deeper critical thinking, negotiation, and "professional skepticism," she said, adding they previously would have been trained in these soft skills later in their careers. 'Assurance for AI' AI is rapidly pushing the industry in new directions. Kosar was a partner in its digital assurances and transparency division before her role as AI assurance lead was created in July 2024. PwC's "assurance for AI" product, which works with clients on ensuring the AI they use is operated responsibly, has only existed since June. For all its potential, AI is challenging the Big Four's long-held business models, organizational structures, and day-to-day roles. Firms are having to consider outcomes-based pricing models based on results instead of billing clients by the hour. Alan Paton, a former partner in PwC UK's financial services division who's now CEO of a Google Cloud solutions consultancy, previously told Business Insider that automation could increasingly cause clients to question why they should pay consultants big money when they can get answers "instantaneously from a tool." While AI is already transforming more junior roles, Kosar said the technology would eventually affect senior ones. Partners and managers will have to adapt to new types of requests from clients, who are asking how AI can fully take over certain business tasks, she added. "It's a shift in how we serve clients as opposed to accelerating progression of capabilities," Kosar told BI. Kosar acknowledged there was fear AI would reduce critical thinking capabilities and replace jobs, but she said she thought AI would lead to better-informed, faster-developing professionals. "We will actually get to a better place in terms of how auditing works, how consulting works, and be able to focus on higher value insights and information," she added. Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at pthompson@ or Signal at Polly_Thompson.89. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely. Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Insider
08-08-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
PwC is training junior accountants to be like managers, because AI is going to be doing the entry-level work
Think you can do your boss's job? If you're a junior accountant, you might soon find out. New hires at PwC will be doing the roles that managers are doing within three years, because they will be overseeing AI performing routine, repetitive audit tasks, Jenn Kosar, AI assurance leader at PwC, told Business Insider in an interview. "People are going to walk in the door almost instantaneously becoming reviewers and supervisors," she said. PwC, one of the "Big Four" accounting and consulting firms, is deploying AI to take over tasks like data gathering and processing. This is leaving entry-level employees free to focus on "more advanced and value-added work," Kosar said. "Three years from now, we will feel like the first years are functioning more like fourth years," she said. "We will look back and say, 'Okay, these young people feel more like the managers of my day.'" AI has got PwC rethinking how it trains junior employees Kosar said the technology meant PwC was changing how it trains its junior employees, adding that entry-level workers have to know how to review and supervise the AI's work. Where the Big Four firm once focused on teaching young employees to execute audit tasks, it's now focused on more "back to basics" training and the fundamentals of what an audit should do for a client, she said. There's more time in the programming to teach junior employees deeper critical thinking, negotiation, and "professional skepticism," she said, adding they previously would have been trained in these soft skills later in their careers. 'Assurance for AI' AI is rapidly pushing the industry in new directions. Kosar was a partner in its digital assurances and transparency division before her role as AI assurance lead was created in July 2024. PwC's " assurance for AI" product, which works with clients on ensuring the AI they use is operated responsibly, has only existed since June. For all its potential, AI is challenging the Big Four's long-held business models, organizational structures, and day-to-day roles. Firms are having to consider outcomes-based pricing models based on results instead of billing clients by the hour. Alan Paton, a former partner in PwC UK's financial services division who's now CEO of a Google Cloud solutions consultancy, previously told Business Insider that automation could increasingly cause clients to question why they should pay consultants big money when they can get answers "instantaneously from a tool." While AI is already transforming more junior roles, Kosar said the technology would eventually affect senior ones. Partners and managers will have to adapt to new types of requests from clients, who are asking how AI can fully take over certain business tasks, she added. "It's a shift in how we serve clients as opposed to accelerating progression of capabilities," Kosar told BI. Kosar acknowledged there was fear AI would reduce critical thinking capabilities and replace jobs, but she said she thought AI would lead to better-informed, faster-developing professionals. "We will actually get to a better place in terms of how auditing works, how consulting works, and be able to focus on higher value insights and information," she added.
Business Insider
08-08-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
PwC is training junior accounts to be like managers, because AI is going to be doing the entry-level work
Think you can do your boss's job? If you're a junior accountant, you might soon find out. New hires at PwC will be doing the roles that managers are doing within three years, because they will be overseeing AI performing routine, repetitive audit tasks, Jenn Kosar, AI assurance leader at PwC, told Business Insider in an interview. "People are going to walk in the door almost instantaneously becoming reviewers and supervisors," she said. PwC, one of the "Big Four" accounting and consulting firms, is deploying AI to take over tasks like data gathering and processing. This is leaving entry-level employees free to focus on "more advanced and value-added work," Kosar said. "Three years from now, we will feel like the first years are functioning more like fourth years," she said. "We will look back and say, 'Okay, these young people feel more like the managers of my day.'" AI has got PwC rethinking how it trains junior employees Kosar said the technology meant PwC was changing how it trains its junior employees, adding that entry-level workers have to know how to review and supervise the AI's work. Where the Big Four firm once focused on teaching young employees to execute audit tasks, it's now focused on more "back to basics" training and the fundamentals of what an audit should do for a client, she said. There's more time in the programming to teach junior employees deeper critical thinking, negotiation, and "professional skepticism," she said, adding they previously would have been trained in these soft skills later in their careers. 'Assurance for AI' AI is rapidly pushing the industry in new directions. Kosar was a partner in its digital assurances and transparency division before her role as AI assurance lead was created in July 2024. PwC's " assurance for AI" product, which works with clients on ensuring the AI they use is operated responsibly, has only existed since June. For all its potential, AI is challenging the Big Four's long-held business models, organizational structures, and day-to-day roles. Firms are having to consider outcomes-based pricing models based on results instead of billing clients by the hour. Alan Paton, a former partner in PwC UK's financial services division who's now CEO of a Google Cloud solutions consultancy, previously told Business Insider that automation could increasingly cause clients to question why they should pay consultants big money when they can get answers "instantaneously from a tool." While AI is already transforming more junior roles, Kosar said the technology would eventually affect senior ones. Partners and managers will have to adapt to new types of requests from clients, who are asking how AI can fully take over certain business tasks, she added. "It's a shift in how we serve clients as opposed to accelerating progression of capabilities," Kosar told BI. Kosar acknowledged there was fear AI would reduce critical thinking capabilities and replace jobs, but she said she thought AI would lead to better-informed, faster-developing professionals. "We will actually get to a better place in terms of how auditing works, how consulting works, and be able to focus on higher value insights and information," she added.
