PwC to recruit audit graduates from non-accounting backgrounds
Accounting and consulting firm PwC is widening the net for young assurance talent in Australia, setting a target for one half of its next graduate intake to come from non-accounting pathways.
The motivation behind the radical move, the firm says, is twofold; to help address the projected shortfall in local accountant numbers in the coming years, and as a reflection of rapidly shifting demands due to AI and technological disruption.
Assurance remains PwC’s largest division, and some 95 percent of the firm’s assurance graduates have historically come from accounting majors, although the academic profile or proportion of its most recent firm-wide intake of 400-plus is unknown.
“As AI reshapes our business, we need the right graduates with the right skills to meet the moment for our business and our clients,” said PwC assurance leader Sue Horlin (who incidentally studied an economics degree in accounting with Macquarie University). “A greater mix of graduates with different capabilities will empower us as we harness AI and turn disruption into growth.”
In announcing its new approach, PwC cited forecasts from the Future Skills Organisation of a 6,000 shortfall in accountants by the end of the decade. Other figures put forward by various industry bodies are more drastic still, while CA ANZ notes that the number of enrolments in accounting degrees have halved since 2018, despite efforts to attract the younger generations.
A new internal pathway
PwC has also established an accelerated internal pathway to support the shift, allowing candidates from non-accounting backgrounds to commence their chartered qualifications within six months rather than what was traditionally a two-year wait, while the firm also has a tailored eighteen-month program in place which includes bespoke coaching, AI upskilling, and hands-on client experience.
“Traditional accounting expertise remains critical and core to the firm’s assurance services, but there is an increasing demand for a broader range of technical and analytical skills,” the firm stated. This expanded skillset will help us meet evolving client needs, harness new technologies, and deliver reliable assurance as organisations undergo significant technological change.”
The firm also argues that the advent of AI tools in the accounting profession, such as its own recently-launched AI-native audit platform, can make the early career journey a more enticing one, by reducing time-consuming and repetitive tasks and opening new opportunities for young professionals to focus on higher-value, client-facing work from an earlier stage.
“AI has been part of my experience from the very beginning,” said Alexia Uri, who joined the firm as a graduate last year. “It helps with routine tasks like reviewing financial statements and assisting with sampling support, and that lets me focus more on analysing data, understanding client processes, developing my professional judgement, and finding accurate answers more efficiently.”
