Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks
Compute, classify, and record numerical data to keep financial records complete. Perform any combination of routine calculating, posting, and verifying duties to obtain primary financial data for use in maintaining accounting records. May also check the accuracy of figures, calculations, and postings pertaining to business transactions recorded by other workers.
1,373,680 people do this job in the US. $50,670 a year.
of the working time. Estimate.
- 89%
- 0%
- 11%
Measured, from Anthropic's usage data (2025). Counts help on part of a task.
On the chosen pace and reliability. Estimate.
Share of the working time within reach, now to 2030
What each choice means: , , , , . Every pace starts from .
At this date and pace, models finish tasks up to 4.4 h long four times in five.
How far this has come
With GPT-4, measured in March 2023, 0% of this job's working time was within reach at . With Claude 3.7 Sonnet, measured in February 2025, 3%. With Claude Mythos Preview (early), measured in April 2026, 70%. Today's estimate: 76%.
A backcast: today's task data with the best model METR had measured by each date. It shows how fast the models have moved, not what anyone forecast at the time.
The tasks
Sorted by . 28 tasks from .
| Task | Kind | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operate computers programmed with accounting software to record, store, and analyze information.Done hourly or more by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 16% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | 95%Half by now | |
| Perform general office duties, such as filing, answering telephones, and handling routine correspondence.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 9% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now | |
| Compile statistical, financial, accounting, or auditing reports and tables pertaining to such matters as cash receipts, expenditures, accounts payable and receivable, and profits and losses.Done more than monthly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 6% | 2.5 h50 min to 6.7 h | 46%Half by Oct 2026 | |
| Check figures, postings, and documents for correct entry, mathematical accuracy, and proper codes.Done daily by most who do it. | 6% | 25 min8 min to 1.3 h | 97%Half by now | |
| Operate 10-key calculators, typewriters, and copy machines to perform calculations and produce documents.Done hourly or more by most who do it. | 5% | 13 min4 min to 38 min | Stays with people | |
| Compare computer printouts to manually maintained journals to determine if they match.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 38 min13 min to 1.7 h | 95%Half by now | |
| Comply with federal, state, and company policies, procedures, and regulations.Done daily by most who do it. | 5% | 25 min8 min to 1.7 h | 92%Half by now | |
| Compile budget data and documents, based on estimated revenues and expenses and previous budgets.Done more than yearly by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 5% | 3.3 h50 min to 1.7 work days | 21%Half by May 2027 | |
| Reconcile or note and report discrepancies found in records.Done daily by most who do it. | 4% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | 87%Half by now | |
| Classify, record, and summarize numerical and financial data to compile and keep financial records, using journals and ledgers or computers.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 4% | 50 min17 min to 2.5 h | 87%Half by now | |
| Prepare bank deposits by compiling data from cashiers, verifying and balancing receipts, and sending cash, checks, or other forms of payment to banks.Done daily by most who do it. | 3% | 50 min17 min to 1.7 h | Stays with people | |
| Perform financial calculations, such as amounts due, interest charges, balances, discounts, equity, and principal.Done daily by most who do it. AI observed on this task. | 3% | 25 min8 min to 50 min | 100%Half by now |
Within reach, per task: the share of the task's time whose instances are short enough for a model to finish at the chosen date, pace and reliability. Half by: the date half of that time comes within reach.
Jobs that share skills with this one
From O*NET's related occupations. Within reach now and by the end of 2028, long-run pace, four in five.
Where this job works
The industry groups that employ the most of it (BLS, May 2025).
Where the most of these jobs are
The metro areas with the most people in it (BLS, May 2025).