EY to Award $100 Million in Bonuses to Workers Who Show 'Human Skills'
Ernst & Young announced on August 31 that it will hand out $100 million in bonuses to U.S. employees who demonstrate "human skills," a move the accounting giant frames as preparing its workforce for a future where artificial intelligence handles more of the routine work.
The program targets qualities AI still struggles to replicate, including business acumen, judgment, adaptability, critical thinking, and the ability to evaluate information and communicate the reasoning behind a recommendation. EY says rewarding those traits reflects what the firm now considers essential to staying competitive as automation reshapes accounting and consulting work.
How the Bonuses Work
The initiative includes two tiers of awards. Spot awards of up to $500 go to individuals recognized for smaller, in-the-moment contributions, while material impact awards of up to $25,000 go to individuals or teams whose work delivers a significant benefit to the firm. Both tiers are designed to reward employees who blend technical know-how with the kind of judgment and communication skills that AI tools cannot easily replicate.
Ginnie Carlier, EY Americas Chief Talent and Culture Officer, said that "how we reward our people defines what we value as a firm," adding that the program is meant to empower professionals to "bring a curious mindset to their work."
Why EY Is Making the Investment Now
The announcement comes as AI increasingly automates routine accounting tasks, a shift that EY says is making the profession more attractive to some workers even as it raises new challenges around demonstrating human expertise to clients. Dante D'Egidio, EY Americas CEO and U.S. managing partner, said "the pace and complexity of change in our industry require confident leadership," framing the bonus program as part of building a workforce suited for what the firm calls a "tech-led, human-powered world."
The push also addresses a harder truth about entry-level hiring. As AI tools take over more junior-level tasks, entry-level positions across accounting and consulting have been shrinking, and firms have increasingly leaned toward hiring senior talent over new graduates. That shift has made it harder for newcomers to break into the field and build the kind of hands-on experience that used to come from years of junior-level work. A recent survey found that roughly one-third of new accounting hires quit within their first year, a churn problem EY appears eager to address by making the human side of the job more visibly valued and rewarded, rather than treating entry-level roles as a dead end overshadowed by automation.
Part of a Broader Industry Shift
EY's approach reflects a wider recalibration happening across white-collar industries as companies weigh how much of their workforce's value should come from technical output versus the kinds of skills AI still can't reliably reproduce, including jobs that depend on distinctly human abilities.
For accounting specifically, the stakes are high: clients still expect judgment calls and clear communication from professionals, not just accurate numbers, and firms that fail to cultivate those qualities risk losing clients to competitors who can offer both technical precision and a trusted human perspective.
Whether other major firms follow EY's lead with similar rewards programs remains to be seen, but the size of the investment, $100 million aimed squarely at rewarding human judgment over automatable output, signals that at least one of the Big Four sees retaining and motivating people as a competitive advantage rather than a cost to minimize in the AI era. For workers watching AI reshape their industries, the program offers a data point worth noting: at least one major employer is explicitly betting that human judgment, not just technical output, is still worth paying for.
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