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Posted
Monday,September 14, 202610:21 am
WACO, Texas — Artificial intelligence is steadily integrating into daily business operations across Texas, but educators and industry leaders agree on one thing: it is not replacing the fundamental rules of accounting.
At Texas State Technical College, faculty members in the online Business Management program are adjusting their coursework to ensure students hit the ground running with AI skills, while keeping traditional principles intact.
“Accounting hasn’t changed in 3,000 years,” said Edna Claus, an instructor in TSTC’s Business Management program. “It really has not changed as far as the concepts. The concepts and skills are being utilized a little differently, and we are trying to help them understand how AI is being used in the workplace.”
Students in TSTC’s program take five accounting-focused courses. In the Introduction to Computerized Accounting course, students work with an educational version of Intuit QuickBooks’ AI assistant. The goal is to train students to view AI as an efficiency tool rather than a substitute for baseline knowledge.
“They need to understand the content and learning objectives,” Claus explained. “They need to obtain the added skills of ensuring that what they are asking of the AI Assistant and automated software is correct.”
Claus is also redesigning the Payroll and Business Tax Accounting class to feature AI-driven tutoring and learning activities, set to launch in fall 2027. However, she noted that final mastery assessments will remain strictly human-evaluated to guarantee students grasp core competencies.
The push to incorporate AI mirrors demands from employers across Texas who want graduates equipped with technical capabilities alongside critical thinking.
Billy Kelley, managing partner at Midland and Waco-based accounting firm Kelley Dutton LLC, noted that AI serves primarily as a research accelerator.
“Don’t be concerned about AI overtaking accounting — it’s not,” Kelley said. “If anything, it’s a tool to make things more efficient… What AI can’t do is sit down face-to-face with a client to communicate.”
Industry leaders from other major Texas institutions share that perspective. Angela Ragan, a shareholder at Waco-based JRBT Certified Public Accountants, emphasized that entry-level roles are shifting toward high-level analysis rather than manual data entry. Meanwhile, Jenna Wilemon, employee relations specialist at San Antonio-based Frost Bank, highlighted that human oversight remains non-negotiable for financial reporting.
The demand for workforce-ready accounting professionals remains high statewide. Data from the Texas Workforce Commission projects that Texas will need more than 15,900 accounting and bookkeeping clerks, alongside more than 10,200 accountants and auditors, through 2034.
TSTC’s Business Management program offers an Associate of Applied Science degree and two certificates of completion.
