How does digital transformation affect corporate accounting employees?

The rapid pace of digitalization has given rise to concerns about its influence on job roles. Our findings reveal a substitution effect on accounting employees. This effect is more evident in private firms, firms with higher levels of digital transformation in their accounting departments, firms in the information technology industry, firms with overconfident managers and firms with a higher-level network infrastructure. Digitalization also has a positive effect on technically skilled and highly educated employees, leading to a decline in the proportion of entry-level employees. We also document that digitalization contributes to more efficient labor investment. Our study therefore offers insights into how digital transformation can change the labor market for accounting employees.