Accountants are finding a new kind of work…Training AI models

• Accountants on LinkedIn & Reddit are actively discussing a new kind of side hustle…Getting paid by frontier AI labs to train and evaluate AI models! 
• This isn’t just a trend in tech; the legal profession paved the way.
• Yes, lawyers, judges, and paralegals were taking on paid AI-training assignments, with rates reaching up to $200 an hour.
• Now, labs like Anthropic, OpenAI, Google are turning their attention and their budgets toward accounting and finance.

AI companies looking for accountants…why?

AI models have largely mastered standard writing and simple code.

But they still struggle heavily and hallucinate dangerous mistakes in “domain-specific logic with strict rules”, such as GAAP/IFRS standards, tax codes, and multi-step financial modeling.

Frontier labs know that enterprise clients (CFOs, audit firms) will not adopt AI unless accuracy is near 100%.

So, they are bringing in professionals who understand the subject matter and can spot when an AI model gets it wrong.

So, what does the work actually look like?

In fact Mercor & Ramp released the APEX-Accounting benchmark in March 2026.

Their research specifically highlighted that over 50% of model failures stem from non-numeric reasoning errors, proving why human expert RLHF is required.

So, Accountants on these platforms engage in Reinforcement Learning from Human Feedback (RLHF).

In practice, this means:

• AI response rating & Preference ranking
• Ideal response writing
• Stress testing models

Depending on the project, the work can involve:

• Technical accounting and financial reporting
• Audit procedures and internal controls
• Revenue recognition and lease accounting
• Financial analysis and valuation
• Tax scenarios and regulatory interpretation

But who is hiring and what do they pay?

Domain expert review sits in the higher-paying tier of AI training. Why? Credentials aren’t just a bonus here…They’re the qualification.

So, Licensed physicians, attorneys, engineers and finance professionals fall in this category.

Platforms currently recruiting accounting and finance experts include:

• Mercor: Advertises domain expert roles ranging from $60 to $100+ an hour.
• DataAnnotation: Features dedicated financial annotation roles paying up to $125+ an hour.
• Scale AI’s Outlier: Connects specialists to domain-specific evaluation projects based on current project demand.

LinkedIn is also where professionals can discover these opportunities.

These figures should be read carefully as they are advertised rates, not guaranteed earnings. Not every opportunity is open to professionals in every country.

Wrapping up…

The rush to build enterprise accounting models is turning human expertise into a high-value commodity.

Law was the “first wave” of domain-expert RLHF to get mainstream media attention.

Finance and accounting are now the direct “second wave” as labs tackle enterprise financial compliance (GAAP/IFRS, tax codes, audit trails).

Mercor has also published an article: How to earn money training AI models remotely. 

Would you consider training AI models as an additional income stream, or do you believe your expertise is better spent serving clients?