Isn’t accounting basically all data entry and balancing the books? Wouldn’t the accounting industry one day be replaced by the advance of technology and made redundant by some data entry software?

This is a misconception fostered by the work that many junior accountants do in the first several years of their career, however, nothing could be further from the truth. Accountants are asked every day to analyze, evaluate and present solutions to clients. These situations require an insight into the business of the client, the business environment in which the business operates, the individuals with whom the client interacts and the general economic health of the industry. None of this can be replaced by “artificial intelligence” or software.