“Automation is changing not only processes but the role of the accountant”: an interview with Anna Korzh, Project Manager at UHY Prostir

A career in accounting often starts with basic tasks and gradually grows into more complex roles, where accounting knowledge matters as much as systems thinking, responsibility and the ability to work with people and processes. As technology and automation advance, that transformation is only speeding up — changing both the profession itself and what is expected of its specialists.

In this interview, we spoke with Anna Korzh, Project Manager at UHY Prostir, about her path from assistant accountant to a role that combines expertise, management and client work. We discussed how the accountant’s role is changing today, which processes stay behind the scenes yet critically shape the result, and which skills help professionals grow in an environment that never stops changing.

Anna, how did your journey in accounting begin, and how did you come to UHY Prostir?

My career in accounting began in January 2015, when I was a third-year student at the Faculty of Enterprise Economics. After studying accounting I decided to try my hand at the profession: I started looking through assistant accountant vacancies, sent my CV to several companies and landed my first job as an assistant accountant at an audit firm.

After a year there I realized I wanted a change and could picture my professional future in a different environment. While looking for new opportunities I joined UHY Prostir — also as an assistant accountant. My first working day fell on March 1, 2016, the first day of spring. For me it marked a symbolic new chapter, a sense of renewal that felt very fitting at the time.

You have been with the company for almost 10 years. How have your role and responsibilities changed over that time? Which stages shaped you most?

My role has changed gradually over the years: from assistant accountant to accountant, then to expert accountant, and since 2020 I have been a Project Manager.

One of the first defining stages was moving up to accountant in the autumn of 2016, about six months after I joined. That meant more than new duties — the level of responsibility changed. I took charge of maintaining clients’ accounting records and at the same time began working with assistants: assigning tasks and reviewing their work.

The offer felt like a real challenge — it all seemed to be happening even faster than I had expected. I was nervous, but I decided to take the opportunity, and I have never regretted it.

The move into the Project Manager role was a more deliberate step. By then I felt ready for new tasks and greater responsibility, though of course some nerves remained.

Which project manager tasks most often stay “behind the scenes” yet are critical to keeping projects stable?

There are many such tasks, and they are what keeps a project running steadily.

First, framing tasks clearly — “translating” from the client’s language into the accountant’s, so the team understands the request correctly and can deliver it properly.

It is also important to keep a constant eye on task status: check progress on time, clarify details with the team or the client and make sure nothing falls through the cracks. Another key part is holding on to the big picture: understanding what is happening on the project, how the processes interlock and whether risks are building up — right now or further ahead.

If you had to explain to an outsider, in one sentence, what a project manager in accounting outsourcing actually does — what would you say?

A project manager in accounting outsourcing is the client’s main point of contact and the person who organizes the team’s work so that the service is delivered accurately and on time.

Are there decisions or approaches that once seemed complicated or unusual but have since become standard practice?

Yes — several approaches felt unfamiliar when they were introduced, but as the company scaled they became necessary and quickly turned into the standard way of working.

One example is a work calendar for each client, with clear deadlines and visibility of every team member’s workload. It makes planning easier and protects people from overload.

Another is detailed instructions for clients’ large processes. They give the work structure, keep the quality consistent and make it much easier to hand tasks over between team members.

Automation is actively reshaping accounting processes. How do you see this transformation as someone who coordinates a team?

Automation is changing accounting processes profoundly. From a manager’s perspective, I see several key benefits.

First, tasks take less time. That eases the team’s workload and lets us deliver results to clients faster.

Second, the risk of errors goes down, which directly improves the quality of the work.

Third, automation makes processes easier to hand over. A new specialist can get up to speed and take over tasks more quickly, which makes the team more flexible and more resilient to change.

Does the accountant’s role change when a system or digital tools take over part of the operations?

Yes, automation changes the accountant’s role substantially. It strips away much of the routine work that used to be done by hand and took up a large share of the day. The focus shifts as a result: instead of repetitive operations, the accountant spends more time checking that the data in the system is correct and analyzing the processes behind it.

Which accounting processes are the hardest to automate, and why?

The hardest to automate are the processes that call for context, professional judgment and human interaction. In particular:

• client communication — clarifying transaction details and understanding the client’s expectations and business context;
• interpreting unusual transactions, such as one-off deals and complex contracts;
• the final review of how transactions are recorded — catching technical errors and inaccuracies;
• tax planning — choosing how to treat transactions within the law;
• process management — setting tasks, tracking deadlines, prioritizing and managing risks.

These tasks rest less on technical skill than on analytical thinking, experience and communication — precisely the competencies that are hardest to automate in full.

Does automation actually reduce the team’s workload, or does it simply change the nature of the work?

Both. Automation changes the nature of the work by taking over the routine, and it genuinely lightens the load. If you imagine today’s volume of paperwork handled without automation, it would take far more time and far more people. That is why these tools do not merely streamline processes — they make scaling possible.

Which accounting processes have gained the most from automation, or will gain the most in the near future?

Some processes are already benefiting significantly. In particular:

• posting source documents — the highest-volume process, where AI tools already cover about 80–90% of the data entry;
• processing bank statements — another regular, labor-intensive process that automation streamlines considerably.

Looking ahead, I think the main progress will come from AI tools getting better at spotting duplicates, recognizing unusual transactions and categorizing income and expenses more accurately.

Which skills are becoming more important for accountants as processes are automated?

With automation, the focus of an accountant’s work is shifting: there is less manual processing and a growing need for analysis. You have to be able to spot deviations, find errors and get them fixed. That is why soft skills are gaining weight — critical thinking, a big-picture view, initiative. They have to sit on a strong foundation of hard skills: a command of accounting fundamentals (legislation, standards, tax rules) and a good understanding of how accounting systems work and what they can automate.

Communication, flexibility and a willingness to keep learning deserve a separate mention — when everything keeps changing, they become critical.

What gives you the greatest professional satisfaction in your work?

I genuinely enjoy being a manager — the role is always fast-moving and varied.

First, the focus keeps changing, from operational questions to longer-term planning, with regular contact with the team and clients along the way. Second, I enjoy complex tasks — breaking them into clear parts and steadily seeing them through.

The end result is a pleasure of its own: every transaction properly documented for everyone involved, the reports filed, the taxes paid — and you can see your own contribution clearly.

And of course it matters that the field never stands still. That momentum brings a sense of both professional and personal growth.

Has there been a moment, after a difficult project or situation, when you thought: “This is exactly why I love my work”?

For me it is less a single moment than a recurring experience.

I am one of those people who often say yes to tasks that look daunting at first. While you are in them they can be demanding, but once they are done there is always a sense of growth and satisfaction with the result. I think that is how professional development happens — you step beyond the familiar and discover you are capable of more than you thought.

Teams often bring together people with very different working styles. How can those differences become an advantage rather than a source of conflict?

People really are different, and their working styles can differ just as much. That is why one of a manager’s key tasks is to understand what makes each team member tick and put those strengths to good use. Where differences can serve the shared result, they should be reinforced; where they might cause friction, they should be talked through openly and resolved. Open communication is critical here.

Diversity is in fact an advantage. One person may be quick and flexible, another slower but extremely attentive to detail. Each will shine in different kinds of tasks and processes.

A strong team is not about everyone being the same — it is about different people complementing one another and working toward a shared result.

What do you think influences the atmosphere inside a team the most?

Team atmosphere comes down largely to how people treat one another: whether you can speak your mind openly and ask questions when something is unclear or difficult; whether initiative is welcome and encouraged; whether everyone understands their role and sees their contribution to the shared result — and how the manager reacts when things do not go to plan.

What mistakes do people make most often at the start of an accounting career?

Early in a career many people feel unsure of themselves — and that is completely normal. The trouble is that it often makes them afraid to ask questions, which costs time and leads to mistakes. So one key piece of advice: never hesitate to clarify details and ask for help when something is unclear.

Another common mistake is not double-checking your own work. With little experience, newcomers sometimes fail to look at the result as a whole, and inaccuracies slip through.

What would you like to have known about the accounting profession at the very start of your journey?

I was a newcomer once too, and probably the most important thing I would like to have heard at the start is that asking questions is not a weakness. Quite the opposite: when in doubt, clarify the details and ask someone to check your work — it makes life easier both for you and for whoever receives it.

It is also worth understanding that legislation changes very often, so in this profession continuous learning is a necessity. The profession itself is transforming too: it pays to take an interest in automation and learn what accounting systems can do from day one.

And one more thing — there really is a lot of routine at the start, but over time more and more complex and interesting processes open up, and with them, room to grow.

Interviewed by Kateryna Bohdan

Read also:

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• Expertise, Responsibility and Team Development: An Interview with Larysa Sterniuk

• How an Auditor of the Future Thinks: An Interview with Viktor Safinskyi, Head of Audit at UHY Prostir

• How Innovation Is Changing Accounting Outsourcing: An Interview with Nataliia Lytvynenko, Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) at UHY Prostir