The Automation of Accounting Practice

Wilson, Robbie; Sangster, Alan

doi:10.1177/026839629200700202

Cited by 14 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…The main difference between this study's finding and those of the last two is that Banker et al (2002) did not distinguish between professional and clerical/administrative labour in its assertion while Manson et al (1997) only concentrated on professional staff. The finding totally agrees with the work of Wilson and Sangster (1992) who suggested that the effect of ICT on accounting has been to increase the overall level of professional employment but marginally decrease the overall level of clerical employment.…”

Section: Rq1c: Does Audit Automation Lead To Power Shift In Audit Firsupporting

confidence: 91%

Information and Communications Technology and Auditing: Current Implications and Future Directions

2010

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This exploratory study assesses, from a structuration theory perspective, the impact information and communications technology (ICT) tools and techniques are currently having on audit tasks, auditors (internal and external) and the organisations they work for from the point of view of coordination, control, authority and structure. Based on a triangulation of interview and questionnaire techniques, the findings indicate that ICT is re-shaping auditors' roles and outputs as well as audit organisations' structures. The findings also project the view that continuous auditing, artificial intelligence and CobiT are expected to gain more prominence while a need was also seen for new software development to help auditors match the complexity of their clients' information systems. The study's results reveal the current state of affairs of the relationship between ICT and auditing against the backdrop of continuous global ICT sophistication thereby updating ICT audit literature and the likely future direction of this relationship. Williams and Edge (1996) noted that many of the debates within the socialisation of technology have tended to take place at a high level of abstraction, with profound differences reflecting deeply entrenched ideological positions. They argued that an empirically rooted research would highlight problems of particular approaches and elaborate possible synergies, thus bringing about intellectual development through a dialogue between the theoretically and empirically focused activities. This paper responds to Williams and Edge's observation by contextualising the socialisation of information and communications technology (ICT) within the audit profession using empirical insights. SUMMARYThis study explores current implications of the relationship between ICT and auditing as well as the possible direction this relationship may take in the near future. The findings suggest that ICT adoption is a dominant force in shaping auditors' roles and outputs as well as audit organisations' structures.

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Section: Rq1c: Does Audit Automation Lead To Power Shift In Audit Firsupporting

confidence: 91%

Information and Communications Technology and Auditing: Current Implications and Future Directions

2010

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“…While widely neglected by prior research, we consider automation to be particularly relevant in MA. Routine tasks, such as bookkeeping or invoicing, can be easily automated, enabling management accountants to focus more on cognitively complex tasks (Scapens and Jazayeri 2003;Wilson and Sangster 1992). Thus, we propose to incorporate automation as an indicator of IS quality.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…6 The respondents are asked to indicate the number of firms (i.e., subsidiaries, joint ventures) consolidated in MA within the following categories: 1 consolidated firm, 2-10 consolidated firms, 11-30 consolidated firms, 31-100 consolidated firms, and more than 100 consolidated firms. 7 Second, following Thong and Yap (1995), firm size may cause differences in the extent of IT adoption because it affects company's IT investments, professional expertise, complexity, and resistance to change (Raymond 1990;Wilson and Sangster 1992). We control for firm size (SIZE), which we operationalize in terms of annual revenue at the corporate level.…”

Section: Control Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determinants of information system quality and data quality in management accounting

2020

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Data quality is critical to adequately perform management accounting (MA) tasks, and information systems (IS) provide the data for the MA domain. However, IS can vary vastly across firms, which may influence the basis for rational decision making (i.e., data quality). This study therefore aims to investigate the impact of IS quality on data quality in MA and to analyze the determinants that can influence IS quality in MA. We conduct a cross-sectional survey among 143 medium-sized and large firms. Based on a structural equation model, we predict and find that IS quality significantly affects management accounting data quality (MADQ). Company's IT investments, internal and external IT knowledge, innovative technologies, and data source variety are significantly associated with IS quality in MA and in turn indirectly affect MADQ. This study highlights the importance of IS quality for management accountants' practice and simultaneously provides new insights regarding the efficacy of selected determinants of IS quality.

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“…There are different reasons why accountants should accept and apply modern digital solutions. Factors that can have a significant impact and be a motivation for technological change according to study conducted by Wilson et al (1992) among the UK accounting profession are as follows: need to meet prescribed deadline for accounting tasks and the importance to provide better and timely information for different users. Furthermore, by using technology the quality and relevance of the accounting information will be improved (Al-Htaybat et al, 2017), the period needed for preparation will be shortened and information will be available in real time without delay.…”

Section: Digitalization and Accounting Professionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Digitalization and the Challenges for the Accounting Profession

2019

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Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. AbstractAccounting profession is traditional profession and accounting rules and principles have been established and are the same for many years. However, globalization of business, stronger regulations and numerous technological solutions and innovations are not bypassing the accounting profession either. Challenges for the accounting profession are reflected in the need for rapid adaptation and transformation of business practice and business processes without abandoning away from basic accounting rules and principles. The aim of this paper is to analyze and systematize the key challenges that digitalization brings for the accounting profession. Research is based on the review of relevant and available professional and academic literature. The results are showing that accounting profession is faced with numerous challenges in the era of digitalization. Key challenges could be systematized in following: the use of big data in accounting and reporting, cloud computing and continuous accounting, artificial intelligence and blockchain technology. The conclusion of this research is that changes in technology and digitalization will have a significant impact on the accounting profession in the coming period. Changes are moving toward reporting on a daily basis, difference on the way of preparing business and strategic plans, implementation of digital wallet and on-line accounting as well as outsourcing of accounting in distant countries. Education system is going to change in circumstances of growing digitalization of business. Also, users of accounting information in digital era are changing; they want accounting information right away when a business event occurs, not with time lag. Those changes will influence on the way accountants carry out their job, it will be necessary the knowledge of new skills especially in engineering, and, finally, that will lead to new types of the accounting professionals.

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The Automation of Accounting Practice

Cited by 14 publications

References 2 publications

Information and Communications Technology and Auditing: Current Implications and Future Directions

Information and Communications Technology and Auditing: Current Implications and Future Directions

Determinants of information system quality and data quality in management accounting

Digitalization and the Challenges for the Accounting Profession

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