America’s Chief Financial Officers Say AI Is Coming for Admin Jobs

AI replacing admin jobs hits 41% of CFOs planning cuts this year

Sarah Mills | GlobalBeat

U.S. finance chiefs expect artificial intelligence to eliminate accounting, payroll and other back-office roles within 12 months, according to a quarterly survey released Tuesday.

Forty-one percent of chief financial officers told Duke University researchers they will shrink administrative headcount in 2024 because AI tools now handle the work.

The finding marks the first time since 2009 that cost cutting, rather than revenue growth, tops the corporate agenda, the survey authors said.

CFOs predicted the largest reductions in accounts payable, receivables and payroll processing.
“These are rule-based, repetitive tasks where generative AI excels,” Duke finance professor John Graham said in an interview.

The online poll contacted 1,150 U.S. CFOs between February 19 and March 8 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.

Companies that already deployed AI software reported average administrative productivity gains of 17%, Graham said.
Firms projected the same roles would need 30% fewer hours by the end of 2025.

Retail, manufacturing and healthcare providers led the planned cuts.
A senior finance executive at a 2,000-store pharmacy chain told researchers corporate headquarters could “lose 1 in 4 clerical staff” once new invoice software finishes rollout in August.

Tech firms were least affected, with only 18% forecasting admin reductions.
Graham attributed the gap to earlier automation and smaller back-office footprints.

Labor groups pushed back.
“The CFOs are rushing to fire people before the technology is proven,” Service Employees International Union secretary-treasurer Rocio Saenz said in a statement.
The union demanded negotiations over retraining and severance.

The survey coincided with separate data from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas showing U.S. employers announced 4,638 administrative job cuts in March, the highest monthly total since November 2020.

Federal forecasters expect overall white-collar employment to keep growing, but the Bureau of Labor Statistics said bookkeeping, payroll and data-entry positions will shrink by 7% this decade.

Background

Corporate adoption of AI moved quickly after ChatGPT’s 2022 debut.
Fortune 500 executives told Reuters last year that contract analysts, customer-service scripts and coding tasks were early targets for replacement.

White-collar unions have struggled to win AI protections.
The Writers Guild of America secured contract language in 2023 limiting studios’ use of generated text, but office-worker organizing drives lag behind.

Previous technology waves delivered mixed results.
Automated teller machines reduced teller numbers per branch, yet total bank-employment rose as cheaper operations expanded nationwide, according to a 2019 MIT study.

What’s Next

Duke researchers will repeat the CFO survey in June, tracking whether planned cuts accelerate after first-quarter earnings.
Congressional hearings on AI workforce impacts are scheduled for May 14, when Labor Department officials are due to testify.

Corporate boards will face pressure to quantify AI savings during second-quarter calls in July.
Graham said early evidence suggests firms that announce large administrative layoffs see share prices rise an average of 2.3% the next trading day, encouraging more cuts.