© 2019 |Published by Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 372 Saudi Journal of Business and Management Studies Abbreviated Key Title: Saudi J Bus Manag Stud ISSN 2415-6663 (Print) |ISSN 2415-6671 (Online) Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Journal homepage: http://scholarsmepub.com/sjbms/ Original Research Article Impact of Automation on Accounting Profession and Employability: A Qualitative Assessment from Lebanon Hassan Rkein, Zeinab A. Issa, Farah J. Awada, Hussin J. Hejase * Faculty of Business Administration, Al Maaref University, Beirut, Lebanon *Corresponding author: Hussin J. Hejase* | Received: 20.04.2019 | Accepted: 26.04.2019 | Published: 30.04.2019 DOI:10.21276/sjbms.2019.4.4.10 Abstract Technology advancement is considered the most aggressive among business external forces. A fact that will impact negatively numerous job categories, among these are accounting jobs. This paper aims to assess the impact of automation on the profession of accounting by conducting a qualitative research using semi-structured interviews with a convenient sample of employees, employers, instructors and students who were willing to participate and offer their insights. However, a literature review is conducted exposing historical development of the accounting profession followed by pinpointing what researchers have contended about the impact of automation. Findings of this research suggest that respondents were aware of the fact that specific accounting jobs will disappear though new jobs may substitute the aforementioned specially jobs that necessitate skills such as critical thinking and consultancy. Findings are used as recommendations for management and policy makers in private and public institutions. Keywords: Automation, accountancy, unemployment, Lebanon. Copyright @ 2019: This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution license which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial use (NonCommercial, or CC-BY-NC) provided the original author and source are credited. INTRODUCTION The new global economy brings with it concerns related to the impact of automation on the job market as it has become a central issue. Very recent literature highlights that accounting is on the top of the list of those jobs that are highly susceptible to automation. According to Dennin [1], Accounting, Bookkeeping and Payroll Clerks jobs are ranked second from ten job categories among 70 million jobs that will be lost by 2022. While it is always proposed that technology develops mainly to shrink the use of labour along with creating new opportunities at more strategic and advanced levels, in reality however, technology seems to be developing at a much faster speed than the alternative anticipated job creation. As a result unemployment rates continue to rise, and competencies and the need for hybrid skills are becoming a must to secure a job. Since accounting has been over the past decades impacted heavily when computers substituted the functions of bookkeepers and cashiers to a large extent, this paper raises awareness and sets an early wake up call. It suggests the need for accounting professional bodies and academic institutions to work along with researchers to set strategies in order to mitigate the side impact that automation will have on accounting job market. This topic becomes significantly crucial in a country like Lebanon as well as all other third world countries, where governments (that are assumed to work for the public interest) are often regulated and captured by the industry, and eventually they act in the industries‘ interest. Authors of this paper draw on the capture theory to support their recent claim. This issue becomes of greater concern after noting that history proved that employers, managers, directors, and shareholders, are mainly concerned with cutting down on costs and increasing profitability. That is as asserted by Watts and Zimmerman [2], the founders of the Positive Accounting Theory, who state that people are driven by self-interest towards wealth maximisation. No one doubts that automation will aid in accomplishing the employers, managers, directors, and shareholders‘ cost reduction target and eventually increase their profit share. While studying the factors behind the continuously increasing high unemployment rates, there will always continue to be disagreement about the driving forces, nevertheless automation stands out. Recent survey by the McKinsey Global institute [3], asserted that 44% of the organisations that had managed to reduce their employees as a result of the 2008 financial crisis did so through different means of automation. On the other hand, history also shows that the adoption of technological innovation can act as a powerful stimulus on the economy, employability, and