As AI automates routine finance work, the repetitive tasks that once defined entry-level accounting are disappearing, and advisory services are moving to the center of how firms create value. That shift leaves colleges racing to prepare graduates for a job that looks very different from the one in the textbooks.

Closing the gap between classroom and practice is now a priority for Intuit Inc. Accounting firms spend time retraining new hires, while fewer students are choosing the major out of fear that AI will take the jobs they expected to do, according to David Zasada (pictured), vice president of education and corporate engagement at Intuit.

“AI may be taking some of the tasks that are more repetitive and taking those over, but it’s opening up a whole other class of jobs with client advisory skills, and that’s growing,” Zasada said. “Those are better paying jobs than even the entry level.”

Zasada spoke with theCUBE Research’s Christophe Bertrand and co-host Alison Kosik at Intuit Connect, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the role of AI in advisory services. (* Disclosure below.)

Teaching advisory services skills before graduation

Intuit’s response is the Accounting Futures program, a free curriculum developed with educators and practicing accountants. It pairs AI fluency modules with training in durable skills such as communication, problem-solving and judgment. Those skills matter more once new hires are sitting across from clients instead of behind a screen, Zasada explained.

“You actually have to start to develop a relationship with the client. You got to be able to communicate with them and you got to be able to help them analyze the information that they’re getting,” Zasada said. “The durable skills are more important than they ever were before.”

Students practice that judgment on QuickBooks case studies drawn from real accounting firm scenarios, then take on paid micro-internships that can run as short as 10 hours. Intuit also recently unveiled Intuit Industry Advisors as part of the program, tightening its ties to the profession. For firms, the payoff is graduates ready to take on advisory services from their first day, according to Zasada.

“They need to really hit the ground running and provide more value in client advisory services roles, and that is a segment of an accounting firm’s business that’s really on the rise,” Zasada said. “It’s allowing them to have time to focus more on actually communicating and coaching their clients on how to be successful.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of Intuit Connect:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the Intuit Connect. Neither Intuit, the sponsor of theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE