Abstract
Purpose - This paper examines the current digital competences of Italian accountants and to what extent these competences are evident in their competence profiles.
 
 Methodology - In this study, 6,442 profiles of accountants, extracted from the professional social network LinkedIn, were analysed using the technique for the analysis of textual data.
 
 Findings - The results of the study reveal that the male users expose more often in their professional profiles the possession of information technology skills than female accountants. Moreover, the results highlight a limited development of data analytics skills, which are reported in only 13% of the LinkedIn profiles analysed. Furthermore, the findings also show that there is a gap between the digital competences held by accountants who belong to different geographical areas. The accountants living in northern Italy, in fact, report more digital competences in their LinkedIn profiles than those living in central and southern Italy.
 
 Originality - This study stimulates the ongoing debate on the competence’s changes of the accountants in the digital technology era.
Highlights
In the current economic context, the digital innovation is a factor that stimulates the change (Wessels, 2005)
In responding to this research gap, this paper aims to observe the possession of digital competences by accountants, to verify whether and to what extent these competences are evident in their competence profiles, based on a complete set of 6,442 published profiles LinkedIn, the largest professional social network in the world (Bastian et al, 2014)
The LinkedIn profiles of male and female accountants are compared on the basis of the digital competences reported in the professional social network
Summary
In the current economic context, the digital innovation is a factor that stimulates the change (Wessels, 2005). The use of artificial intelligence and the analysis of big data leads, on the one hand, to a transformation of work practices with the creation of new professions, such as artificial intelligence specialist and big data specialist and, on the other hand, an increased risk of computerization that extends to a wide range of jobs (Ford, 2015; Brynjolfsson & Mcafee, 2014) (Note 1). For instance, there is an increasing risk that the disruptive force of digital technologies will lead to a transformation of the profession. Manyika et al (2017) estimate that at least 50% of the activities carried out by accountants will be automatable through the technologies currently available, while a further 15% will become so in the near future The current “entry-level” jobs that require low cognitive abilities may disappear quickly. Manyika et al (2017) estimate that at least 50% of the activities carried out by accountants will be automatable through the technologies currently available, while a further 15% will become so in the near future
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