AI models have surpassed licensed accountants on structured bookkeeping tasks. A new study from Mercor pitted 12 licensed accountants with an average of five-and-a-half years of professional experience against leading AI systems. The result is striking: while the best models scored around 37 percent accuracy 18 months ago – matching the average accountant – they now solve the same simplified tasks nearly flawlessly. At the same time, AI systems cost a fraction of what accountants do.
Key Takeaways
- Claude Opus 5.5 leads the full APEX Accounting Benchmark with 61.8 percent of evaluation criteria met, followed by other models such as GPT-6 Astra (57.9%)
- On simplified tasks, AI models outperform accountants in speed and accuracy – a leap forward in just 18 months
- On the complex APEX Benchmark with 160 tasks across 10 simulated companies, no model solves all tasks completely
- Nearly 60 percent of tasks are not fully solved by any model – AI still requires human oversight
The Benchmark: Simplified vs. Reality
Mercor tested two scenarios. On simplified APEX Accounting Benchmark tasks, AI's superiority is clear. The full benchmark is a different beast: 160 tasks spread across 10 simulated companies, developed by over 40 professionals averaging 11 years of experience. Here, the models hit a ceiling.
Top performers Claude Opus 5.5 and GPT-6 Astra each score just above 60 percent of evaluation criteria. That sounds respectable – but it's incomplete. Nearly 60 percent of tasks aren't fully solved by any single model. Translation: without human oversight, AI can't independently close a fiscal year.
What AI Can Do – and Can't
Mercor acknowledges the tested tasks showcase what AI does best: detailed information retrieval and precise instruction-following. Real accountant work is broader. The study excluded:
- Client communication
- Colleague consultations
- Domain-specific contextual knowledge
These aren't technicalities – they're what makes accountants irreplaceable. Yet the study also notes: significant productivity gains across the industry are foreseeable.
What This Means for You
For German mid-market companies and agencies, the signal is clear: AI won't replace accounting, but it will radically accelerate it. Routine tasks – capturing receipts, allocating accounts, consistency checks – will become faster and cheaper. That frees capacity for work requiring human judgment: strategic financial planning, anomaly detection, advisory services.
Whoever invests in AI-powered accounting processes now gains competitive advantage. Those who wait risk competitors already capturing cost savings. The study proves it: the era of "AI isn't ready yet" is over – at least for structured financial workflows.
Sources
Editorially owned by Ideal Syka. Sources and method: Newsroom & method. Tips and corrections: ai@i6eal.de.
