PwC graduate roles under threat from AI, accountancy firm boss says

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) could eventually lead to fewer entry-level graduates being hired, the head of accounting giant PwC has told the BBC.

However, global chairman Mohamed Kande said AI was not behind the firm's recent job cuts, adding that the company did need to hire hundreds of new AI engineers but was struggling to find them.

But some observers say the technology itself threatens thousands of junior jobs in professional services.

Speaking on the sidelines of a business summit in Singapore, Mr Kande also said big changes in the global economy, such as US President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, had benefited the firm's consulting business.

He also spoke about the suspension of the company's China operations last year over its work on collapsed property giant Evergrande, promising the same mistakes “will not be repeated again.”

PwC, headquartered in London, is one of the Big Four accounting firms. It provides a wide range of services such as financial audit, consulting and tax advice to business clients around the world.

Advising them on how to integrate artificial intelligence into their operations will be at the core of the company's future business strategy, Mr. Cande said, even as rapidly evolving technology impacts its own hiring plans.

Firms that previously hired PwC consultants to analyze data and documents can now use artificial intelligence models instead, turning weeks of expensive work into minutes.

The company hires thousands of new graduates for entry-level roles every year – including 1,300 in the UK and 3,200 in the US last year – but it recently abandoned long-term plans to further increase its workforce.

In 2021, PwC said it wanted to hire 100,000 people within five years, but Mr Kande said that was no longer possible.

“When we planned to hire this many people, the world looked very different,” he said.

“Now we have artificial intelligence. We want to hire, but I don’t know if people will be at the same level as we’re hiring—it’ll be a different set of people.”

Last year, PwC cut more than 5,600 positions across its businesses around the world.

The head of the company's UK division has previously spoken about falling graduate recruitment, admitting that AI is “definitely changing roles”.

Globally, however, Mr Cande insisted the AI ​​boom was an “exciting time” for job creation.

“Today we are looking for hundreds and hundreds of engineers to help us implement our artificial intelligence program, but we just can’t find them,” he said.

Companies around the world may be facing challenges in adapting to AI, but at the same time, PwC appears to have benefited from broader uncertainty in the global economy, largely caused by President Trump's widespread use of tariffs.

“We're getting a lot of calls from a lot of companies around the world asking how to navigate the current climate,” Mr. Cande said.

“It worked to our advantage. We need to stay relevant to our customers and we need to be part of those discussions, which is what we are doing.”

However, last year the company suffered a huge reputational blow when Chinese authorities suspend PwC for six months over his work on collapsed real estate giant Evergrande.

The firm collapsed after racking up debts of more than $300bn (£230bn) and found itself at the center of a devastating housing crisis that continues to wreak havoc on lives and livelihoods in China.

The country's securities regulatory commission found that PwC, as auditor, “concealed and even condoned” financial fraud at Evergrande.

Mr Kande, whose tenure as global chairman began after Evergrande's bankruptcy, said PwC no longer faced any restrictions in China.

“Let me tell you, we've changed a lot of our people, we've put new quality management systems in place and we've put new management systems in place,” he said.

“My goal was to make sure nothing like this ever happened again.”