A recent press release by the National Association of Hungarian Accountants (MKOE) painted a gloomy future for the profession. Its detailed timeline listed key milestones on the way to full automation, with the road ending with the disappearance of the entire segment within a few decades. First, bookkeeping and then auditing would shrink, going entirely by around 2060 in the developed world.
Another survey by the same association a few years back found that about one-third of accountants were considering quitting the profession, partly for age-related reasons. Given the latest findings, that might seem like an astute judgment now, but the picture is a lot more nuanced than that.
As Zsolt Ruszin, MKOE vice president, explains to the BBJ, accountants remain frustrated, but he draws attention to the fact that an “exit” is only an option for employees.
“In the case of professional accountants, there is pretty much no such thing as an exit because of the complex responsibility issues,” he says. Accounting offices face higher worker turnover and rely less on employee contracts since paying fixed wages is no longer profitable in light of changing clientele and scope of duties.
According to the expert, the need for a good accountant has not changed, though, and may even increase in the short term, say the next 4-5 years, at the very time when the profession has thinned out. Simultaneously, the range of professional information available for free has surged enormously.
“There are perhaps a few thousand ‘real’ accountants left in the country with deep experience and considerable expertise, and there is no sign of replacements [for these] among the young, many of whom believe that practical knowledge is no longer in the head but in the computer, and they have a point,” Ruszin notes.
MKOE projects that, by 2040, bookkeeping automation will reach the SME circle, and there will no longer be “any sane company” paying for 20th-century methods and skill sets for what is an administrative task.
“It’s a lot more likely that the shrinking demand for accountants will be restricted to activities such as ‘business coaching’ or a hybrid IT-heavy accountant role,” Ruszin adds. MKOE estimates that the number of accountants, currently at 75,000, is expected to halve within ten years and fall below 20,000 by 2040. The same goes for auditors. But others are not so sure.
“I don’t believe that full automation would ever become a reality,” Eszter Török notes. A highly skilled accountant with nearly three decades of experience, she knows that oftentimes, things are just not that obvious when it comes to accounting.
While she realizes that the tax authority will prepare ever more draft tax returns, thus less human labor will be needed, she believes it would never come to a full replacement.
She is also a tax advisor, and when asked whether that could be an alternative career path for her, should push come to shove, she rules out the option. She also has just 12 years till retirement.
“Tax advisory has become part of the job by now. I can’t see any alternative, but I love my profession regardless.”
The number of days for SME bookkeeping seems to be numbered primarily because of the gradual digitization of tax-related administrative tasks. From this summer, any receipt must also be electronic; 2027 should witness the final launch of the eVAT era; and data reporting on social contributions will become blockchain-based by 2028.
Based on these three regimes, the National Tax and Customs Administration will prepare a proposal on due taxes and contributions for SMEs, similar to how it does today for personal income tax. That will make accounting for solo entrepreneurs obsolete, although advisory roles might continue to exist.
As Zsolt Ruszin of the National Association of Hungarian Accountants says, the belief is that, by 2040, we will be surrounded by voice-command devices.
“In such an environment, even the need for business coaches doesn’t seem valid, given free AI modules would get the job done.”
The dynamic changes and their timeline in the regulatory department seem to be written in stone. It is another matter how those concerned are capable of adapting. According to Zsolt Ruszin of the National Association of Hungarian Accountants (MKOE), the main obstacle to defending sectoral interests is the government’s IT “solutions,” as there is no meaningful cooperation in the IT field mapping regulations to simplify administration.
“The public authorities aim to exclude proactive players from the dialogue because every project must be hailed as part of propaganda. This is a Hungarian peculiarity; in neighboring countries, it’s not like that,” he complains.
Accountants’ work is most disturbed by IT “shocks” such as software changes, system crashes, or administrative obstacles. The recent nationwide switch to Ügyfélkapu+ (“Client Gateway Plus, the enhanced version of the main digital administrative portal for citizens and entities) is also causing trouble. The association also says MKOE’s suggestions to smooth the transition were ignored. Seasoned expert Eszter Török confirms the increasing administrative burden.
“Help? Don’t make me laugh,” she says, arguing that many new tasks emerged due to the switch to Ügyfélkapu+. Although these are not strictly part of the accountant’s job description, she says she couldn’t ignore her clients’ pleas for assistance.
“They [the government] don’t make our lives easier; on the contrary, they dump a lot of problems upon us,” she says of the regulators.
This article was first published in the Budapest Business Journal print issue of February 21, 2025.
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