The Interest, Knowledge, And Usage Of Artificial Intelligence In Accounting: Evidence From Accounting Professionals

What the paper says

Artificial intelligence, along with other recent advancements in technology, has revolutionized business processes around the world. The purpose of this paper is to determine if artificial intelligence has become a popular tool utilized by corporations and/or accounting firms around the Southwest Florida region. Given that artificial intelligence will significantly impact the accounting world, it is important to understand how professionals perceive this rapidly emerging technology. To understand how artificial intelligence is utilized, we survey thirty-four professionals holding accounting positions ranging from staff accountants to partners. We find that a majority of accountants surveyed were at least somewhat interested and at least somewhat familiar with the use of artificial intelligence in accounting. However, the majority of accountants surveyed did not previously use artificial intelligence in their company and a limited number of accountants are currently using artificial intelligence to complete an accounting process and/or task. Regression analysis shows that professionals that have previously tried implementing artificial intelligence and that believe artificial intelligence will be used in accounting in the future are more likely to be interested in implementing artificial intelligence. Additionally, when analyzing the results from partners-only, we find very similar results as the average accountant, they also believe that artificial intelligence will be used in accounting in the future which provides a promising outlook for coming changes in the accounting profession.