AI Outperformed Accountants in Recent Mercor Study

A new research study found that AI models achieved higher accuracy and lower costs than human CPAs on accounting tasks.

Updated on Oct. 4, 2026 in Artificial Intelligence

AI Outperformed Accountants in Recent Mercor Study

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Do you worry that AI will eventually make your current job role obsolete?

The Mercor study compared 12 licensed certified public accountants against AI models across four month-end accounting scenarios. The results indicated that the AI model Claude Opus 5 reached 100 percent accuracy, while human professionals averaged 37 percent.

Why it matters

This study was conducted to establish clear human baselines for AI benchmarking in complex professional tasks. It highlights the growing capability of artificial intelligence to manage structured workflows more efficiently than human practitioners.

Claude Opus 5 achieved 100 percent accuracy in 20 attempts compared to a 37 percent average for humans. The AI completed tasks in under 10 minutes at a cost of $0.21, significantly faster and cheaper than the 30 to 180 minutes and $10.35 cost required for humans.

The players

Mercor

Mercor is a research organization that conducts studies to evaluate and benchmark the performance of various artificial intelligence models.

Claude Opus 5

Claude Opus 5 is an advanced artificial intelligence model capable of performing complex data-driven tasks.

The details

Researchers evaluated performance by identifying details from records, calculating figures, and tabulating results. The study found that human participants, who possessed an average of 5.5 years of experience, struggled to match the speed and precision of the tested AI model.

The study results were published on October 4, 2026.
Previous top-tier AI models reached 69 percent accuracy in April 2025.

The Tech Race

This study highlights the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, moving from the 69 percent accuracy rate observed in April 2025 to near-perfect performance. This progression underscores the accelerating capability of AI to replace legacy manual processes with automated solutions.

Businesses may soon adopt these AI tools for routine month-end reporting to reduce operational costs and increase speed. Employees in accounting roles should prepare for a shift in responsibilities as these models take over highly structured, repetitive tasks.

The takeaway

As AI demonstrates superior efficiency in structured accounting, the professional focus will likely shift toward more complex, non-routine financial analysis. Practitioners can maintain value by prioritizing these higher-level tasks that remain outside current AI capabilities.