…. KPMG cuts graduate intake by 29 percent, Deloitte by 18 percent, EY by 11 percent and PwC by 6 percent
Accounting entry-level graduate job listings in the United Kingdom (UK) have fallen 44 percent year-on-year, while graduate recruitment at its biggest accounting firms is also declining, signalling a structural squeeze on the traditional entry point into finance as artificial intelligence (AI) and offshoring reshape the profession.
For instance, KPMG has cut its graduate intake by 29 percent, Deloitte by 18 percent, EY by 11 percent and PwC by 6 percent. EY has also delayed graduate start dates for three consecutive years, suggesting that the contraction in entry-level recruitment is becoming more than a temporary response to weaker economic conditions.
The figures matter because graduate schemes have traditionally served as the finance industry’s talent pipeline. Young accountants typically begin with routine tasks such as processing invoices, reconciling accounts, categorising transactions and preparing reports before progressing into analysis, risk management, client advisory and strategic roles.
The impact will be particularly relevant to foreign talent, including Nigerian graduates and finance professionals abroad who view the UK as a route into international careers, as much of that foundational work is now being automated.
Artificial intelligence platforms are increasingly automating transaction categorisation, reconciliation and elements of month-end close.
The result is a squeeze from both directions: AI is reducing the amount of routine work requiring human labour, while offshoring is changing where much of the remaining work is performed.
For graduates, however, the bigger concern is what happens when the work through which they traditionally gained experience disappears.
Routine finance tasks may have been repetitive, but they provided an important apprenticeship. They taught young professionals how transactions move through a business, how errors are identified and how financial information is prepared before it reaches managers, auditors and investors.
As these tasks become automated, employers will have to rethink how graduates acquire that practical knowledge.
The impact will be particularly relevant to foreign talent, including Nigerian graduates and finance professionals who view the UK as a route into international careers.
For years, the UK has attracted Nigerian accountants, finance graduates and other professionals because of its established financial-services sector, professional qualifications and relatively structured graduate recruitment pathways. A shrinking pool of entry-level roles, however, means international candidates could face an even more competitive market, particularly where employers can recruit locally or move routine functions to lower-cost markets.
Visa sponsorship adds another layer to the challenge. Where an employer must justify the cost and administrative burden of sponsoring an international worker, the case for hiring a foreign graduate into a role that can be automated, filled domestically or delivered from an offshore centre becomes harder to make.
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This does not mean Nigerian professionals will become irrelevant to the UK finance market. Rather, the threshold for international mobility is likely to rise.
Professionals who bring skills that are scarce, specialised or difficult to automate will have a stronger proposition than those competing for routine entry-level positions. Expertise in areas such as financial technology, data analytics, risk, compliance, audit, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and complex financial reporting could therefore become increasingly important for globally mobile finance professionals.
For Nigerian graduates planning an international career, the implication is that choosing a qualification alone may no longer be enough. They will need to think earlier about the skills that distinguish them from both local candidates and increasingly capable technology.
The danger for employers, meanwhile, is that companies remove entry-level work without replacing the learning opportunity attached to it. Graduates could then be expected to arrive with the analytical judgement and commercial understanding that previously developed through years of hands-on experience.
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That would create a new talent problem for the profession.
The finance graduate of the future will need to understand technology rather than compete with it. Processing transactions quickly will matter less when software can handle thousands in seconds. Greater value will come from understanding why a task matters, identifying when an automated output is wrong and explaining what the numbers mean for the business.
For globally mobile professionals, this shift could eventually change the traditional migration pathway. Instead of moving abroad to gain experience through a broad graduate programme, more professionals may need to build specialised capabilities at home before seeking international opportunities.
Ngozi Ekugo is a Senior Correspondent at BusinessDay. She holds a Masters in management from the University of Lagos, an undergraduate from University of Lagos, and is in an alumni of Queen's College. Shes currently an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM). She has a brief experience at Goldman sachs, London in its Human Capital Management division. She is interested in human capital development and is leveraging her varied experience across sectors to report labour and global mobility trends for stakeholders to make informed decisions.
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