Two Developments Shaping the Workforce
AI tools are becoming more capable, accessible, and embedded in everyday work, while accounting education is seeing renewed momentum across U.S. colleges and universities. Together, these trends signal meaningful change for the accounting workforce.
In this edition, we look at Anthropic’s new Claude Cowork tool and what AI-powered automation could mean for nontechnical professionals. We also examine new data showing continued growth in accounting enrollment, outpacing overall undergraduate trends and signaling a strengthening talent pipeline.
Anthropic Introduces Claude Cowork for noncoding professionals
Anthropic has introduced Claude Cowork, a new version of its automation tool designed for professionals proficient in Microsoft Word who do not have coding experience.
Launched as a research preview, the tool uses the same underlying technology as Claude Code while removing the need for a coding interface and has been widely adopted by tech workers for writing, editing, and debugging code, and many users have also applied it to noncoding tasks, such as:
- Accessing files on a user’s computer to complete multistep tasks from a single prompt
- Organizing files based on their contents
- Analyzing data across documents
- Writing reports
- Creating charts
- Building PowerPoint presentations
- Generating expense reports using photos of receipts
With Claude Cowork, Anthropic is expanding access to these capabilities for less technical workers who subscribe to the Max plan, which costs between $100 and $200 per month.
However, Anthropic cautioned that Claude Cowork can take potentially destructive actions, such as deleting files, particularly when given vague prompts.
The release comes as competitors, including Alphabet, OpenAI, and numerous startups, race to develop white-collar automation tools.
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Accounting Enrollment continues to rise
Undergraduate accounting enrollment in U.S. colleges and universities increased for the third consecutive year in fall 2025, according to data from the National Student Clearinghouse. Accounting enrollment growth outpaced overall undergraduate enrollment, signaling continued momentum for the profession.
Overall undergraduate accounting enrollment grew 7.3% year over year in fall 2025, compared to 1.2% growth across all majors. This follows an 11.3% increase in fall 2024 and a 1.9% rise in fall 2023.
Key enrollment highlights:
- Total postsecondary accounting enrollment reached 313,397 students in 2025 (up from 293,759 in 2024)
- Enrollment includes students at four-year institutions, community colleges, hybrid institutions, and graduate programs
- Four-year undergraduate accounting enrollment increased 7.4% to 204,283 students, marking the third consecutive year of growthOne in eight undergraduate business students majored in accounting in fall 2025, up from one in nine in 2023
- Graduate-level accounting enrollment increased just under 0.5% to 25,580 students (This marks the first year-over-year increase in graduate accounting enrollment since 2019)
“Three straight years of growth is energizing for the profession. The fact that enrollment was up this fall versus competitive fields of study signals that students are seeing the purpose, trust, value, and financial security that accounting delivers – and they’re choosing it.”
-Susan Coffey, CPA, CGMA (AICPA CEO of public accounting)
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