A new study by Mercor shows AI models are doing way better than humans in certain accounting jobs. AI models like Claude Opus 5 finished tasks super fast with 100% accuracy, while human accountants managed only a 37% average accuracy.
AI models are now beating human accountants in specific accounting tasks. AI recruiting firm Mercor revealed this in their latest study. Anthropic's Claude Opus 5 wrapped up accounting tasks with 100% accuracy. The AI took less than 10 minutes for each attempt. Tech billionaire Elon Musk even noticed these findings. He shared a post about the study on X and reacted, "Superintelligence, formerly known as AI, is now acing accounting exams."
AI models compete with 12 accountants
Researchers titled the study 'Human Baselines for Benchmarks: AI Now Outperforms Junior Accountants'. They tested 12 human accountants against various AI models. All the participants were licensed Certified Public Accountants (CPAs). These professionals also had an average of 5.5 years of experience in the accounting field.
Humans score just 37% average accuracy
The test gave the accountants four month-end accounting scenarios based on real company records. The tasks required them to find specific details from documents, identify the right numbers, do the math, and put the results in a table. Human accountants scored an average accuracy of just 37%. Individual performances showed a massive gap. Some scored 0%, while others reached almost 90%. Most humans took between 30 and 180 minutes to finish. On the flip side, Claude Opus 5 scored a perfect 100% across 20 attempts reported in the study. The AI finished every single task in under 10 minutes.
Massive difference in costs
The study points out a huge cost difference between AI and humans for completing these tasks. Researchers calculated the costs based on the average salary of accountants in America. A human accountant costs about $10.35 on average to complete one benchmark. Claude Opus 5 costs just $0.21 for the exact same work.
AI performance shot up really fast
The performance gap between AI and humans changed incredibly fast. Just 18 months ago, even the best AI models could not cross the 37% human average. Then OpenAI's o3 model beat that 37% mark. GPT-5 reached around 69%. Now, some of the latest top-tier AI models, including Claude Opus 5, have hit 100% or come very close to it.
Will AI steal accountant jobs?
Mercor warns people not to jump to conclusions. You cannot assume AI will take over an accountant's entire job just based on this study. Researchers clarify that the test only included specific tasks that perfectly suit AI models. These include following strict instructions, digging out data from huge files, and sticking to detailed standards. Real accounting work involves talking to clients, asking the right questions, teaming up with colleagues, and using years of experience. The study did not test any of these human skills. However, Mercor notes that AI will likely take over the highly structured tasks, which will eventually boost overall productivity in the accounting sector.
