The Big Four professional services firms — among the largest employers of graduates globally — are drastically rethinking their hiring practices as technology transforms the way companies are audited².

在科技改变企业审计方式之际，跻身于全球最大毕业生雇主之列的“四大”专业服务公司正在彻底反思各自的招聘实践。

As parts of the audit¹ process are automated³, and firms embrace artificial intelligence, much of the mundane⁴ administrative⁵ work often given to entry-level employees is being eliminated. This has led to predictions of a significant fall in graduate recruitment at some of the biggest auditors⁶.

随着部分审计流程实现自动化，随着各事务所采纳人工智能技术，过去往往交由初级员工完成的单调的行政工作有很大一部分正被消除。这导致人们预测，某些最大审计机构将显著减少招聘毕业生。

“Over time our graduate needs are coming down,” said Steve Varley, chairman and managing partner for the UK and Ireland at EY. “We hired 650 graduates in 2010 and 1,200 graduates in 2015. Given the rate at which technology is speeding up audit, that number could drop by 50 per cent in 2020.”

“随着时间的推移，我们对毕业生的需求正在下降，”安永(EY)英国及爱尔兰董事长和管理合伙人史蒂夫•瓦利(Steve Varley)表示，“我们在2010年招聘了650名毕业生，在2015年招聘了1200名毕业生。考虑到技术加快审计流程的速率，到2020年这个数字可能会下降50%。”

At the same time, the increasing adoption⁷ of technology means graduates with skills in areas such as data analytics and computer sciences are in high demand.

与此同时，会计师事务所越来越多地使用技术意味着，具备数据分析和计算机科学等领域技能的毕业生非常吃香。

Over the medium term, the hiring model of the professional services firms will change dramatically, according to Jim Peterson, a US-based accounting⁸ specialist and author. “Firms will no longer need armies of junior staff but instead will need the best algorithm design geeks in the world,” he said. “They will audit large companies with a team that can fit into a conference room, rather than occupying an entire office tower.”

在美国工作的会计专家和作者吉姆•彼得森(Jim Peterson)表示，从中期来看，专业服务公司的招聘模式将出现戏剧性改变。“事务所不再需要大批初级员工，而是需要世界上最优秀的算法设计怪才，”他说，“事务所会派出一间会议室就能容纳的团队来审计大公司，而不需要占据整栋写字楼的庞大团队。”

As firms embrace data analytics, a big challenge is making sure they have the right balance of skills.

随着会计师事务所采用数据分析，一大挑战在于确保它们拥有搭配合适的技能。

Adrian Stone, UK head of audit at KPMG, said: “We’re not at the stage of computers replacing people. Right now the challenge is to make sure we have the correct balance of people who will do the interpreting and people who will make sure computers are set up to interrogate⁹ properly.”

毕马威(KPMG)英国审计业务负责人阿德里安•斯通(Adrian Stone)表示：“我们还没有到计算机代替人的阶段。现在的挑战是确保我们在从事数据诠释的人员和设置计算机使其恰当查询数据的人员之间达到正确平衡。”

Jon Raphael, chief innovation officer at Deloitte in New York said the firm was “starting to hire more specialists to help with data analysis and data acquisition”.

德勤(Deloitte)纽约的首席创新官乔恩•拉斐尔(Jon Raphael)表示，该事务所“开始聘用更多帮助进行数据分析和数据采集的专业人士”。

The greater emphasis on technology skills means firms may have to cast the net wider during their hiring search, putting them head to head with tech groups such as Apple and Alphabet.

对技术方面的技能更为看重意味着，各事务所或许在搜寻人才时需要更大面积地撒网，这使它们难免和苹果(Apple)及Alphabet等科技公司正面交锋。

Stephen Griggs, managing partner of audit and risk advisory¹⁰ at Deloitte UK, said: “We may have to start recruiting from technology companies. In the modern world these guys will be hot talent so they will be an expensive resource.”

德勤英国审计和风险咨询管理合伙人斯蒂芬•格里格斯(Stephen Griggs)表示：“我们可能必须从科技公司那里招聘人才。在现代社会，这些人将成为抢手的人才，因此他们将是一种昂贵的资源。”

William Kring, a senior academic researcher at Boston University also said he expected to see “a greater emphasis on the IT background of the applicants¹¹ from business schools”.

波士顿大学(Boston University)资深学术研究者威廉•克林(William Kring)也表示，他预计“对来自商学院的求职者的IT背景将更加重视”。

“I would expect recruiters to focus increasingly on the analytical¹² ability of the auditors,” he said.

“我预计招聘人员将更加关注审计师的分析能力，”他说。

James Chalmers, head of assurance at PwC, which is a top three graduate employer in the UK, did not believe the number of graduates the firm hired would decrease.

英国排名前三的毕业生雇主普华永道(PwC)的鉴证业务主管詹姆斯•查默斯(James Chalmers)并不认为该公司招聘的毕业生人数将会降低。

“If you take the view that this is the fourth industrial revolution we think the increased adoption of technology and artificial intelligence creates opportunities around solving new and different problems,” he said. “We think that will fuel growth for the business,” .

“如果你认为这是第四次工业革命，那么我们认为更多地采用技术和人工智能将围绕解决新的、不同的问题创造出种种机遇，”他说，“我们认为这将促进业务增长。”