PwC teams up with OpenAI, are the "Big Four" still far from replacing humans with AI?
The four leading companies rely on AI to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
In the matter of AI replacing human work, although it is still far away overall, savvy audit firms have already begun to consider using AI to reduce costs.
Recently, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), one of the Big Four accounting firms, has started collaborating with OpenAI to provide clients with AI-generated recommendations.
In terms of capabilities, AI is no less than humans. It can provide consulting services for complex issues ranging from taxation to law and human resources. Specifically, it can even conduct due diligence, identify compliance issues, and advise on whether to approve business transactions for companies.
In a year of significant economic slowdown and interest rate hikes, audit firms, like their clients, are cutting costs. PwC plans to freeze salary increases and bonuses for 25,000 employees in the UK, Deloitte will lay off over 800 people in the UK, Ernst & Young will cut about 5% of its workforce in its UK financial services consulting department, and KPMG announced the elimination of 125 consulting positions.
PwC stated that its collaboration with OpenAI is not based on ChatGPT and will not result in immediate layoffs.
Bivek Sharma, COO of PwC UK, stated to the media on Monday that PwC's AI system is already "performing like a partner with a 25-year tenure."
He believes that sharp geopolitical and compliance issues have brought many challenges to audit firms, and AI is an effective tool for navigating complex environments.
The system is currently being promoted in the UK, with approximately 650 employees able to use the system for testing and training. PwC plans to expand its usage to over 10,000 employees in more than 50 countries in the coming months.
The Big Four audit firms have been doubling their efforts to develop AI to improve productivity. Competitor KPMG announced a multi-billion-dollar investment in Microsoft's AI and cloud services, while Ernst & Young recently established a partnership with IBM to streamline human resources processes using AI. Deloitte has expanded its partnership with Google Cloud to develop AI-driven solutions for clients. PwC has also been using AI chatbot services since March to help speed up tasks such as document summarization.