The Impacts And Significance Of Technology Implementation In Accounting And Finance

Aim and Objective

The topic of this research is to assess the impacts and significance of technology implementation in accounting and finance.

In the contemporary times, accounting and financial reporting are defined as the practices of recording the financial data, transaction, auditing and assessing the several financial practices and performances of certain companies that have a massive implication, particularly in the business structure and international business. In the contemporary international business phenomenon, trends of inclusiveness, integration, and interconnectedness of company are increasing and several nations focus on globalization and liberalization and emphasize on the transformation in the practices of government in across the different nations. The company needs to develop the reliable financial and accounting reporting practices that make sure the high prosperity, profitability along with the sustainability of the business organization. It will also aid to deal in complex operational structure (Ruivo, Oliveira, and Neto, 2014).

The international business phenomenon has made the noteworthy transformations in their operational structure with the intention of technological and infrastructural aspects. The development of the technological structure has persuaded the process of business significantly along with; there is no exception to incorporate the finance and accounting aspects. With the period of time, financial and accounting practices across the international level have experienced the substantial alteration due to the integration of technological advance in these fields, particularly in the sectors of commerce and trade. Furthermore, integration of technology has been taking place in the accounting practices in the forms of mobile accounting, cloud computing, tax software, OCR technology and similar experience (Drexler, Fischer, and Schoar, 2014).

The given below structure will be used in this proposal that helps to complete the aim of a research study in a systematic way:

This is the first chapter of research, which will entail the aim and objective of the investigation, research significance and research questions. It will be beneficial to prepare the base of the knowledge base and dynamic data related to the issue of research. This chapter will provide depth data associated with limitation of research that a research faces in terms of accomplishing the research study. The data about this part will be essential for a research scholar for evaluating the track of investigation and assess the research matter in a methodological manner (Epstein, 2018).   

The second chapter of this research is about reviewing the different literature that is used for discovering the issue of research by implementing different associated aspects. By using this chapter, a research will be competent to evaluate the existing knowledge regarding research subject matter and also assesses previous authentic information to increase the comprehension about it. For this research purpose, different sources will be used like journals, articles, and online and offline website. It would be also effective for determining the gap of understanding and generates the base for implementing the primary research tools (Gomber, and Haferkorn, 2015).

Literature Review

In this research, a researcher will explain some methods, techniques, and strategy for accomplishing the research from a mechanical and ethical perspective. The researcher will involve certain components such as investigation approaches, philosophies, research design, data analysis tools, sampling and data collecting tools. These components are rationalized for ensuring the reliability and validity of the outcome. In this way, research tools will be justified according to the topic and objectives of research that is significant for accomplishing the reliable results (Loughran, and McDonald, 2016).     

In this research, this chapter is significant for conducting an effective evaluation of pooling the data. This section will provide a significant channel for a researcher with regards to classifying the data along with, evaluating them in against of each objective. In this way, it helps a researcher for evaluating and analyzing the information in a logical manner by using the feasible information assessing strategy. Through this, a researcher would be competent in explaining the data in a chronological way in order to generate the valid outcome (Laudon, and Laudon, 2016).

Conclusion and Recommendation:

It is the last chapter if the researcher that will make capable to a researcher in order to conclude the research according to the findings. This section will build the relationship amid findings and objectives in order to create the consistent and authentic result. It will also provide the suggestion related to impacts and significance of technology implementation in accounting and finance. It would be effective for determining the practical implication and guiding the future researcher for performing well research (Simkin, Worrell, and Savage, 2018).

In the current scenario, there is a need to focus on the aspect of incorporation and integration of technological advancement and development in the financial and accounting field in across the international business structure. This becomes an enormously significant study in the nation of across Australia.        

The concerned investigation proposes to discover the primary question that is given as follow:

By focusing on the primary research question, the secondary research questions for the concerned investigation are as follows:

1. In what ways are technological developments being incorporated in the accounting activities of businesses in Australia?
2. What are the advantages of implementing technological innovations in accounting activities?
3. What are the costs of implementing technological innovations in accounting activities?
4. What are the future implications of the incorporation of technology in accounting practices in business organizations?

The proposed investigation primarily aims to study the significance of technological development in the sector of accounting practices in the business and the importance of the same. This research focuses on the business in the nation of Australia. The concerned investigation tries to discover the method in which the limitation found could be avoided such as understanding the limitations that may be experienced by the company in the nation. Thus, it helps to predict the future implication of technological implementations in the accounting practices in Australian business.  

Research Methodology

According to Brown et al. (2016), information technology and accounting originated from diverse background and its history. Furthermore, accounting has been implemented since the time of 8500 BC in current times. But, there is no a different strategy that maintains the accounting aspects. Information technology is the fast pacing technology in each and every day. In current times, Novel technologies are developed in managing the accounting practices but, it may be outdated within a few months.

On the other side, Przychodzen and Przychodzen (2015) evaluated that the impact of IT cannot be avoided since it would direct with respect to competitive benefits and development in the business. In addition, the application of information technology in management accounting has been renowned in the current times because it provides the benefits to the company in terms of managing their accounting. There are certain accounting studies that integrated the IT paper as an integral element of accounting initiative in order to initiate implementation of IT in the prospect time period. Moreover, the commencement of IT in accounting specifically managerial and financial accounting is undeniable.

In the view of Tayeh Al-Jarrah and Tarhini (2015), information technology is a field to investigate the information from personal computers. Hence, this existing study focuses on the applicable technology that is modified to management accounting such as multimedia technology together with utilizing the internet for management accounting. The key focus is placed on the implication of the application of information technology in the field of management accounting.

In contrast to this, Chenhall and Moers (2015) assessed that the performance of the company could be improved because of computerized accounting information system in the current times. Furthermore, the key theme of the article focuses on the processes of the business transaction that were created and simplified the effective operation. Furthermore, another reason for using advanced technology is a reasonable price for the different small sized business company. It creates the huge opportunities for the business entity to improve the operation of the business.

According to Wilden and Gudergan (2015), information technology has an impact on the accounting process in certain ways. Firstly, the accounting techniques and proficiency the industry and company have improved to ensure the trustworthiness and significance in declaration and documentation of information. Another way is that the accountant should understand the overall transaction flow and related control actions for making certain and consistent the data. According to the result of the investigation, it is stated that there is a need to evaluate, recognition and confirmation of probable alternatives in order to resolve the unconformity concern from accounting practices.

Data Analysis

In the view of Otley (2016), information technology aids to make certain conformity amid system of accounting and the environment in which the company deals. The theoretical aspect contributed with respect to the literature of accounting and assuming the assessment of information technology. It creates a certain conformity process in the system of accounting and business environment through which a business deals. This theoretical aspect also encountered the conformity in the identification process of management accounting.

In opposed to this, Hall (2015) discussed the facts that implementation of advanced technology is important with the intention of decision making and managerial accounting technique since the ERP system is not merely system that generates facts from exposure and daily operation. They also stated the intrinsic technique in order to deliver the requisite data for controlling the corporate and decision-making.

According to Seethamraju (2015), the application of advanced technology such as ERP and AIS can deliver the support in the business procedure by helping the managers in their decision-making. It also defines that the implementation of ERP and AIS helps to store the critical decisions that drive the performance of business concern.

In contrast to this, Lehmann and Joseph (2015) described the overall potential of IT application in the field of management accounting and also discusses the benefits with limitation. This study focuses on the need for transformation in the education of accountants by shifting the knowledge of system towards information technology. In addition, it reveals that there are cost aspects of IT since the implementation of the same could lead to vast spending on IT staff, hardware, and updated software.

Ismail and King (2014) exhibited that the company should focus on the new IT initiatives that match with it audit professionals tasks in three concepts. Firstly, the new IT facilitates the data to support the decision making related to the audit. The software related to audit manages the evidence of audit to make feasible audit decision making and note databases offer the appropriate supplement data. Secondly, the new IT meets the need of daily operation of the company in its audit sector. The audit software mechanizes the research of working notes and this note helps in the interaction between the client and the professionals. Thirdly, the new information technology programs fit into the needs of the business. The notes application enables the business to share the knowledge and supply up-to-date data that aids in professional need and also help in the accounting industry.   

Conclusion

On the other side, Avgerou and Walsham (2017) evaluated that information technology is a valuable backing as they offer information for making a judgment. It is examined that the investment in technology helps an organization for taking new support program for customer service. The author stated that many vendors use return on investment analyzing technique to measure the economic benefits for technology investment. It is stated that a balanced scorecard is used for customer support technology and it will enhance the business procedure, enhance the organizational capabilities enhances product and effectively encourages the employees. The limitation of this literature review is that the author is failed to address the extent of significance and makes a comparison between ROI and business investment. Thus, it can lead to investing in technology. It does not address the IT platform in detail and also declines the budgetary expenses.  

Wamba et al. (2017) argued that data mining technology and IT is significant to offer the higher efficiency. It can result in enhancing the decision of business. Furthermore, history data or previous data is key for a corporation to become effective in investment. But, the author is unable to focus on the technical needs with respect to the application platform and required knowledge to engage the system.   

In support of this, Coombs (2015) stated that automation helps to enhance the total expenses of ownership by associated with field force. The author illustrates the application of mobile computing for the company’s workforces and prospects that large companies are implementing the application of mobile. The author recommends that with this advanced technology, the use of paper environment could be discarded and shifts by the company about paper-less atmosphere and digital data.   

In opposed to this, Badewi (2016) asserted that selecting the correct system is beneficial for the company because, it will assess the balance between cost and need. The limitation of this research is that the author failed in highlighting the consequences of having a paper-less atmosphere to the legal issues. There was no comprehensible evidence that the author has a proof mobile system that could not be tempered or operated.

As per the view of Bennett and James (2017), another issue in the integration concern associated with resources. Although, there are similar IT models who are highly favored by the student branch of accounting and finance but, they are not offered only for limited amount of student due to inadequate resources with respect to infrastructure and personnel.

Primary and Secondary Research Questions

On the other side, Miller and Skinner (2015) evaluated the infrastructure issues like the problem of accessing the software, inconsistencies and technical support. There are certain factors, which contributes to the failure of IT integration in the accounting profession. It is an overcrowded academic initiative that is practiced in the sector of accounting and lack of official support. There was a high amount of existing belief and training like resistance to transformation. Moreover, integration of IT experience in university learning and teaching shows that IT is still inadequate in comparison with the minimum need for encouragement through professional bodies. In the case of universities, the UK demonstrates the low extent of IT, information system, skills, and incorporation of knowledge in the accounting school programs. Thus, it is significant for assessing the factors, which persuade the development of IT skills in the teaching initiatives.

With the intention of this research, both descriptive and exploratory research design would be selected by an investigator. In exploratory research design, an investigator would be competent to gather in-depth information associated with impacts and significance of technology implementation in accounting and finance. In contrast to this, the implementation of descriptive design will help in comprehending the characteristics of individuals and groups. These design will help an investigator to collect the opinion and perception of respondents in terms of meeting the objectives and responding the question of research. Apart from this, casual research design will not be practiced, as there is no requirement for building the cause and effect association amid variables (Li, and Lin, 2016).     

In this research study, research scholar will use mix research design for the attainment of research objectives as, this type of design contains features of both qualitative and quantitative research designs. With respect to this, a qualitative research design facilitates the researcher to obtain theoretical information about the research study. Instead of this, statistical research design will be practiced to evaluate the responses of respondents (Ainin, et al., 2015).  

In this research, the researcher will use both types of data collection method as, it will assist the research scholar to reach at the valid conclusion. With respect to this, primary information will be accumulated by performing the survey through questionnaire and interview with selected participants because they provide the precise and consistent information about research study (Kavanagh and Johnson, 2017). 

With the purpose of the survey through a questionnaire, close-ended questions will be used and open-ended questions will be practiced for capturing the opinion about different accounting aspects of implementing technology in the business organization in the concerned nation. In contrast to this, secondary data will be accumulated through second-hand information such as online and offline sites, academic journals and articles, trustworthy magazines and websites (Bonsón, Royo, and Ratkai, 2015). This kind of data takes less time to provide genuine information regarding research issues. This will enable to observe the trends in the operational structure of the company in Australia and overall global business phenomenon. It will help to understand the before and after the application of different accounting associated technology in companies. This will aid the proposed investigation to contrast the existing facts with information collected from selected participants (Deng, and Ji, 2015).   

With the intention of this investigation, survey and interview research strategies will be practiced by an investigator. These research strategy will enable to pool the high amount of data associated with impacts and significance of technology implementation in accounting and finance. By using the survey strategy, an investigator would be competent in gathering the information in minimum time and costs. It may improve the reliability of investigation due to gathering data through accounting professionals and managers. The use of interview approach will help an investigator to meet with the respondents individually and acquire the perception associated with research concern. It will also help in the creating the validity of investigation (Chan, and Vasarhelyi, 2018).

For the purpose of this research, both probability and non-probability sampling method will be used to choose the respondents from a large amount of population. Probability sampling technique will be used by research scholar for performing this research study. Non-probability sampling strategy will be selected where all the participant has not an equal probability of being selected. Under this, convenience sampling method will be practiced for selecting the participants for an interview as per their abilities, understanding, and involvement (Keyes, 2016). In this term, the researcher will use simple random sampling technique in order to select the respondents on a random basis. This sampling technique decreases the chances of partialities from survey through questionnaire because it provides equal opportunity to each respondent to give their views. Furthermore, 50 accounting professionals will be chosen from the different organization of Australia to perform the survey through a questionnaire on research issues. Along with this, 5 accountant manager will be selected from the different organization of Australia for face to face interview. For this, the researcher will give instruction regarding research issue (Mahmud, Ramayah, and Kurnia, 2017).  

After collecting the information, research scholar will use statistical data analysis technique to assess the gathered data and then interpret it in an appropriate way. The researcher will practice MS-Excel software to exhibit the information by the histogram, pie chart, and bar diagram. Therefore, it will assist the reader to get extensive knowledge about research study (Keyes, 2016).

In this research, the data protection act 1988 will be used by the researcher. As per this act, before accomplishing the research study, they could not reveal the personal information to anybody. Research scholar will not pressurize the respondents to give their personal information and could not represent it in a manipulated manner. Before collecting the data, the research scholar will notify the manager with respect to the intention of the investigation. This will aid to complete the investigation in an ethical way. It is essential for an investigator to perform the investigation in an ethical way, and incorporating the norms made by the concerned university under which the investigation would be performed (Mahmud, Ramayah, and Kurnia, 2017).  

The proposed aim to keep the following aspects to perform the different practices associated with research:

1. The participants would be chosen by using random sampling and it will add to decline the intended and unintended bias in the concept of sample selection.
2. The interviews with the participants would be performed only after giving the confirmation from them in the written way and their responses would be recorded after getting the consent (Bonsón, Royo, and Ratkai, 2015).  
3. The secondary data would be gathered through authentic sources and peer-reviewed journals in order to acquire the quality information with relevancy.  
4. All the assessment and interpretation would be performed and the outcome of assessment would be published without any intended and personal bias and to keep the quality and genuineness of the proposed investigation (Keyes, 2016).

References:

Ainin, S., Parveen, F., Moghavvemi, S., Jaafar, N.I. and Mohd Shuib, N.L., 2015. Factors influencing the use of social media by SMEs and its performance outcomes. Industrial Management & Data Systems, 115(3), pp.570-588.

Avgerou, C. and Walsham, G. eds., 2017. Information Technology in Context: Studies from the Perspective of Developing Countries: Studies from the Perspective of Developing Countries. UK: Routledge.

Badewi, A., 2016. The impact of project management (PM) and benefits management (BM) practices on project success: Towards developing a project benefits governance framework. International Journal of Project Management, 34(4), pp.761-778.

Bennett, M., and James, P., 2017. The Green bottom line: environmental accounting for management: current practice and future trends. UK: Routledge.

Bonsón, E., Royo, S. and Ratkai, M., 2015. Citizens’ engagement on local governments’ Facebook sites. An empirical analysis: The impact of different media and content types in Western Europe. Government Information Quarterly, 32(1), pp.52-62.

Brown, M., Grigsby, J., van der Klaauw, W., Wen, J. and Zafar, B., 2016. Financial education and the debt behavior of the young. The Review of Financial Studies, 29(9), pp.2490-2522.

Chan, D.Y. and Vasarhelyi, M.A., 2018. Innovation and practice of continuous auditing. In Continuous Auditing: Theory and Application (pp. 271-283). UK: Emerald Publishing Limited.

Chenhall, R.H., and Moers, F., 2015. The role of innovation in the evolution of management accounting and its integration into management control. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 47, pp.1-13.

Coombs, C.R., 2015. When planned IS/IT project benefits are not realized: a study of inhibitors and facilitators to benefits realization. International Journal of Project Management, 33(2), pp.363-379.

Deng, Q. and Ji, S., 2015. Organizational green IT adoption: concept and evidence. Sustainability, 7(12), pp.16737-16755.

Drexler, A., Fischer, G., and Schoar, A., 2014. Keeping it simple: Financial literacy and rules of thumb. American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, 6(2), pp.1-31.

Epstein, M.J., 2018. Making sustainability work: Best practices in managing and measuring corporate social, environmental and economic impacts. UK: Routledge.

Gomber, P. and Haferkorn, M., 2015. High-frequency trading. In Encyclopedia of Information Science and Technology, Third Edition (pp. 1-9). USA: IGI Global.

Hall, J.A., 2015. Information technology auditing. USA: Cengage Learning.

Ismail, N.A. and King, M., 2014. Factors influencing the alignment of accounting information systems in small and medium-sized Malaysian manufacturing firms. Journal of Information Systems and Small Business, 1(1-2), pp.1-20.

Kavanagh, M.J. and Johnson, R.D. eds., 2017. Human resource information systems: Basics, applications, and future directions. USA: Sage Publications.

Keyes, J., 2016. Implementing the IT balanced scorecard: Aligning IT with corporate strategy. USA: Auerbach Publications.

Laudon, K.C., and Laudon, J.P., 2016. Management information system. UK: Pearson Education.

Lehmann, J. and Joseph, S. eds., 2015. Biochar for environmental management: science, technology, and implementation. UK: Routledge.

Li, K., and Lin, B., 2016. Impact of energy conservation policies on the green productivity in China’s manufacturing sector: Evidence from a three-stage DEA model. Applied Energy, 168, pp.351-363.

Loughran, T. and McDonald, B., 2016. Textual analysis in accounting and finance: A survey. Journal of Accounting Research, 54(4), pp.1187-1230.

Mahmud, I., Ramayah, T. and Kurnia, S., 2017. To use or not to use: modeling end user grumbling as user resistance in the pre-implementation stage of the enterprise resource planning system. Information Systems, 69, pp.164-179.

Miller, G.S. and Skinner, D.J., 2015. The evolving disclosure landscape: How changes in technology, the media, and capital markets are affecting disclosure. Journal of Accounting Research, 53(2), pp.221-239.

Otley, D., 2016. The contingency theory of management accounting and control: 1980–2014. Management accounting research, 31, pp.45-62.

Przychodzen, J. and Przychodzen, W., 2015. Relationships between eco-innovation and financial performance–evidence from publicly traded companies in Poland and Hungary. Journal of Cleaner Production, 90, pp.253-263.

Ruivo, P., Oliveira, T. and Neto, M., 2014. Examine ERP post-implementation stages of use and value: Empirical evidence from Portuguese SMEs. International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, 15(2), pp.166-184.

Seethamraju, R., 2015. Adoption of software as a service (SaaS) enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Information systems frontiers, 17(3), pp.475-492.

Simkin, M.G., Worrell, J.L. and Savage, A.A., 2018. Core concepts of accounting information systems. USA: Wiley Global Education.

Tayeh, M., Al-Jarrah, I.M. and Tarhini, A., 2015. Accounting vs. market-based measures of firm performance related to information technology investments. International Review of Social Sciences and Humanities, 9(1), pp.129-145.

Wamba, S.F., Gunasekaran, A., Akter, S., Ren, S.J.F., Dubey, R. and Childe, S.J., 2017. Big data analytics and firm performance: Effects of dynamic capabilities. Journal of Business Research, 70, pp.356-365.

Wilden, R. and Gudergan, S.P., 2015. The impact of dynamic capabilities on operational marketing and technological capabilities: investigating the role of environmental turbulence. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 43(2), pp.181-199.