The accounting profession in the Twilight Zone: navigating digitalisation's sided challenges through ethical pathways for decision-making

Adriana Tiron‐Tudor et al.

Accounting Auditing and Accountability Journal2024https://doi.org/10.1108/aaaj-12-2022-6173article
AJG 3ABDC A*
Weight
0.76

Abstract

Purpose The paper aims to explore the sided challenges facing the accounting profession in an advanced digitalised future where humans and robots will collaborate in working teams. Design/methodology/approach Employing a qualitative approach, the paper conducts a reflexive thematic analysis to identify challenges and associated socio-ethical risks of digitalisation; it then introduces an ethical decision-making model aimed at addressing these challenges. Findings Key professional accountants’ (PAs) sided challenges refer to autonomy, privacy, balance of power, security, human dignity, non-maleficence and justice, each of them possessing multifaceted dimensions that are interconnected dynamically to create a complex web of socio-ethical risks. Practical implications The ethical decision-making pathways corresponding to each detected challenges provide a useful reference and guideline for PAs in the digitalised future of the profession. Social implications Using an anthropocentric perspective, the research addresses the sided challenges of accounting profession’s accelerated digitalisation; it contributes to fostering accountability and legitimacy of the accounting profession which serves the public interest. Originality/value By innovatively intertwining ethical positions with decision-making pathways, the paper offers a potential solution to address digitalisation’s sided challenges that might interfere with practitioners’ professional judgement and identity.

16 citations

Open via your library →

Cite this paper

https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/aaaj-12-2022-6173

Or copy a formatted citation

@article{adriana2024,
  title        = {{The accounting profession in the Twilight Zone: navigating digitalisation's sided challenges through ethical pathways for decision-making}},
  author       = {Adriana Tiron‐Tudor et al.},
  journal      = {Accounting Auditing and Accountability Journal},
  year         = {2024},
  doi          = {https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/aaaj-12-2022-6173},
}

Paste directly into BibTeX, Zotero, or your reference manager.

Flag this paper

The accounting profession in the Twilight Zone: navigating digitalisation's sided challenges through ethical pathways for decision-making

Flags are reviewed by the Arbiter methodology team within 5 business days.


Evidence weight

0.76

Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40

F · citation impact1.00 × 0.4 = 0.40
M · momentum0.90 × 0.15 = 0.14
V · venue signal0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03
R · text relevance †0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20

† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.