Testing accountants' perceptions of the digitization of the profession and profiling the future professional

Abstract

In the context of businesses shifting into the virtual environment, the increasing importance of IT skills as a result of the acceleration of the digitalization of accounting on the one hand, and the overlapping crises on the other, the accounting profession was forced to rapidly adopt innovative digital measures to meet these challenges. Through empirical research based on a questionnaire structured on four categories of influencing factors, we investigated professional accountants' perceptions of their readiness for further training in light of new labor market trends. Our analysis reveals that readiness for further training and adherence to the accounting profession in the context of digitization are influenced by several factors. First, it is influenced by respondents' perceptions of the ease of using digital tools, the level of performance achieved, expected effort and situational factors such as organizational culture and regulatory policies. Second, concerns about the acceleration of digitalization, perceived threats associated with potential job losses from the replacement of humans by artificial intelligence as well as accidental exposure of data due to the loss of control and therefore causing errors in measurement and reporting.