Research on the Effect of Artificial Intelligence Anxiety in Accounting Profession Candidates on Career Decidedness

Technological advancements have significantly impacted human life, often facilitating ease in various aspects. In this context, advanced technological infrastructures such as artificial intelligence (AI) have begun to replace human-performed tasks. While this can simplify certain aspects of life, it can also provoke anxiety among individuals. Notably, the advent of AI in the field of accounting has the potential to impede the practice of accounting professionals, necessitating changes in career planning. The possibility that AI developments, which have the potential to affect various professions, might also impact the career planning of accounting professionals forms the central question of this study. The primary objective of this study is to investigate whether AI developments influence the career decidedness decisions of prospective accounting professionals who have the potential to practice in the field of accounting. The secondary objective is to determine whether the sub-dimensions of AI anxiety—namely, the learning dimension, job transition dimension, socio-technical blindness dimension, and AI configuration dimension—affect career planning. To achieve this objective, a survey was conducted among students at Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, predominantly those receiving education oriented towards the accounting profession. The collected data were analyzed, and the main hypothesis formulated in line with the research objective was accepted. Of the sub-hypotheses, three were accepted, while three were rejected. Consequently, the study found a low-level relationship between AI anxiety and the career decidedness of prospective accounting professionals.