ChatGPT, a chatbot created by researchers, recently passed the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam on its second attempt, becoming a step closer to taking over accounting roles. The success of the upgraded and better-trained version of the chatbot raises the question if Artificial Intelligence (AI) can eventually outsmart human accountants.
The original version of the chatbot had an unimpressive performance on the exam and was unable to pass any section of the exam. To improve the version, researchers applied “chain of thought” prompting and the “10-shot” scenario, where the chatbot was trained with 10 examples that covered key concepts of accounting. The enhanced version, ChatGPT 4.0, managed to secure an average score of 85.1 and passed all four sections. The highest score achieved by the bot was an 87.5 on auditing and attestation (AUD).
This experiment calls into question the natural competitive advantage of human accountants compared to AI systems and implies that machine and accountant may need to work together in the near future for increasing efficient workspaces.
Mack Wilowski is the Associate Editor of Investopedia, a known financial dictionary that provides financial advice related to trading, investing, and personal finance. Wilowski is also a contributor to the “Term of the Day” newsletter, the New York City Recovery Index, and the “What to Expect” weekly markets briefing. As an experienced editor, Wilowski has been providing helpful advice on finance-related topics to help investors stay informed.
