The Future of the Accounting Profession Under the Incidence of Automation

Abstract

Development of technology in the field of accounting area has generated big impacts on accounting departments and has led to a radical change in the way accountants should work in business environment. The automation of accounting processes is seen as a current major trend, having in its composition both positive and negative effects, which aim to highlight benefits, as well as threats that will face the future accounting profession. By nature, the accounting field has been directly influenced by the evolution of information technologies, currently advancing towards robotics automation, Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, cloud data storage and many more. The purpose of the article is to present the applicability of emerging technologies that shape the accounting profession, the methods, working tools, as well as the as the balance of advantages and disadvantages of such technologies. Regarding the automated peculiarities, the study within this document is focused on the accounting systems applied by Romania, USA and Korea. These being three countries with different levels of development, reasoning, the way they act and deal with existing problems. The focus of this presentation is to shows the future of the accounting profession, as well as the accountants who will have to develop new skills and knowledge in order to cope with change. Technological transformation is expected to overflow, especially after COVID-19, and it is therefore necessary to understand and explore new technologies that offer many opportunities associated with risks and threats.