Accounting Information Systems Research Research Articles

Evolution and Dynamics of Technology Based Accounting Information: A Bibliometric Study

This bibliometric study delves into the evolution and dynamics of technology-based accounting information systems (AIS), exploring the intersection of technological advancements and accounting practices. The integration of technology in accounting has catalyzed significant transformations, reshaping how financial data is managed, analyzed, and reported. Through a comprehensive analysis of 780 publications spanning from 1977 to 2024, this research uncovers key trends, influential works, and emerging themes in the field of technology-based AIS. Utilizing bibliometric techniques such as co-citation analysis and network visualization, the study provides insights into the collaborative landscape, thematic clusters, and temporal trends within the domain of technology-based AIS research. The findings shed light on the evolution of AIS research, highlighting the increasing relevance of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and blockchain, while also identifying potential areas for future investigation.

Looking beyond the hype: The challenges of blockchain adoption in accounting

Blockchain has been hyped and considered a potential game-changer for the recording of accounting transactions as it enables triple-entry accounting and real-time reporting. However, there is very little knowledge of the uptake of blockchain in accounting, and most blockchain accounting research is conceptual, lacking empirical evidence. This study addresses this gap and examines the organisational factors that drive and hinder the adoption of blockchain in accounting, as well as the perceived benefits. Using the technology-organisation-environment (TOE) framework, we analyse interview data collected from blockchain experts and accountants (N = 19). The findings confirm the influence of nine context-specific factors, highlighting the challenges and lack of knowledge in understanding the usage and benefits of blockchain in accounting, its complex integration with existing accounting systems, and the increased costs associated with the adoption intention. This study provides novel empirical evidence of the factors by adequately contextualising an established theoretical framework in the context of accounting. The findings are useful for practitioners and the broader accounting information systems research community as they provide empirical insights into how context-specific factors influence blockchain adoption in accounting.

The authorship origins of accounting information systems and emerging technologies research: An analysis of accounting information systems journals

This article examines the authorship origins of accounting information systems (AIS) and emerging technologies (ET) research from 2004 to 2021 in six journals: Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting (JETA), Journal of Information Systems (JIS), International Journal of Accounting Information Systems (IJAIS), International Journal of Digital Accounting Research (IJDAR), Accounting Information Systems Educator Journal (AISEJ), and Intelligent Systems in Accounting, Finance, and Management (ISAFM). This study contributes to the understanding of AIS and ET research by conducting a comprehensive analysis of 1,101 research articles published in these AIS journals by authors’ employer and doctoral country, employer institutions, doctoral institutions, doctoral disciplines, author type, and by AIS and ET classifications. The aim of this study is to identify the historically most productive and influential countries and institutions in the AIS and ET domain and to discover the educational and professional background of AIS and ET researchers, respectively. The findings of this study provide helpful information for job seekers, prospective Ph.D. students, researchers seeking co-authorship, and those interested in this literature and serve as a valuable supplement to the existing bibliometric analysis of AIS literature.

Analysis of the Development of Accounting Information Systems Research with Bibliometric Analysis

Accounting information systems (AIS) play an important role in supporting decision-making, improving operational efficiency, and increasing organizational accountability. Along with the development of information and communication technology, AIS research continues to grow rapidly. Bibliometric analysis is an appropriate method for mapping the development of AIS research. This research uses bibliometric analysis methods with AIS scientific publication data collected from Scopus and Web of Science during the 2010-2023 period. Data was analyzed with VOSviewer to map research trends, collaboration between institutions, and dominant research topics. AIS research is experiencing rapid growth with a primary focus on systems development, technology adoption, and its impact on organizational performance. Collaboration between research institutions is still low, and there are several research topics that are minimally researched. AIS research shows a focus on technology development, adoption, and impact on organizational performance. Collaboration between institutions is still low, and there are research topics that are minimally researched.

THE EFFECT OF USAGE AIS ON SMALL BUSINESS PERFORMANCE IN MUGADISHO-SOMALIA

The purpose of this study is to investigate how the Accounting Information System (AIS) affected the performance of small businesses. The study's particular goals were to determine how top management support, usefulness, and ease of use were impacted by AIS, a tool used to analyze small business performance in Mogadishu, Somalia.
 Theoretical Framework: "Meta-theory" describes how the technical, organizational, and cognitive approaches are combined and integrated to provide an all-encompassing model for AIS research. 
 Design, Methodology, and Approach: The population of the study comprised small businesses in the Bakaro market that focus on retail, electronics, and clothes. The main data for this investigation were gathered manually using a questionnaire. Non-probability sampling was employed, and the data were subjected to regression and correlation analyses using SPSS software. The investigation's methodology was survey design.
 Findings: The results of this study demonstrate a direct relationship between accounting information systems and business performance, suggesting that access to trustworthy accounting data improves organizational effectiveness. Hence, the accounting information system may have an impact on how Somalia's businesses operate economically.
 Research practical and social implication: The ease of use, usefulness, and support management of the accounting information system are enormous benefits for the economy, businesses, and organizations. A constant supply of precise and trustworthy data is necessary for the economy to grow. The biggest factor increasing the entire worth of a firm is performance management. 
 The paper recommends that firms integrate accounting information systems into their daily operations to increase future sales and profitability and Given that accounting information systems (AIS) facilitate the development of analytical comparisons, also governments should establish comprehensive, universal training facilities for small businesses.
 Originality/Value: This approach identifies a strong correlation between organization science, technology, and cognitive functions. A variety of AIS technologies, such as databases, expert systems, and decision support tools, can be utilized to address accounting-related issues. As such, the cognitive and organizational demands of the activity must be considered while selecting and applying these tools. A variety of AIS solutions are necessary because AIS users encounter several problems and organizational limitations.

AIS research opportunities utilizing Machine Learning: From a Meta-Theory of accounting literature

We use Accounting Information Systems (AIS) meta-theory to develop a framework for analyzing and using machine learning in accounting research, emphasizing 1) specific accounting research tasks, 2) supervised and unsupervised models, and 3) inductive vs. deductive research designs. We apply our framework to organize AIS and accounting research and highlight opportunities for future AIS research using machine learning. We discuss the changes in technology that have made machine learning more feasible in practice and research and how these changes might motivate and influence future research projects. We conclude by providing directions for future work in machine learning in AIS research and discussing the potential application to practice.

Institutional theory in accounting information systems research: Shedding light on digital transformation and institutional change

This article aims to shed light on digital transformation in the accounting sector from the perspective of institutional change. We performed a systematic literature review to understand how institutional change could be applied to research on Accounting Information Systems (AIS), using a quantitative method to categorize data through LSA (Latent Semantic Analysis) technique; and a qualitative method performed by hierarchical categorical content analysis as a basis for inferences. We reviewed 309 articles using Institutional Theory in accounting and AIS. The LSA results presented the main topics of study, subfields of research, and uses of Institutional Theory. Regarding accounting research, it is possible to identify the role of institutional forces in the IFRS adoption (in private and public sectors), XBRL adoption, and disclosure of information on organizations’ environmental, social, and governance, with a focus on analyses at the organizational level and regulatory pressures. A deep dive into AIS articles showed that Institutional Theory was applied to analyze the adoption of systems/technologies (mostly ERP and XBRL) through isomorphic processes (coercive, mimetic, and normative). We proposed to analyze digital technologies as an exogenous change for the digital transformation in accounting business using another perspective of Institutional Theory: institutional change. Institutional change analyzes the role of destabilizing elements in the change of an organizational field as a whole and not just in a few organizations. In this perspective, technology is the agent of change on a broader level, transforming organizations, individuals, customers, suppliers, and governments. The main contribution of this article is presenting suggestions for future AIS. This research agenda contributes to advancing Institutional Theory in AIS, using the lens of institutional change to analyze the new realities shaping accounting organizations, such as digital transformation.

AI and the Accounting Profession: Views from Industry and Academia

ABSTRACT Anecdotal and empirical evidence indicates that the growing adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) within accounting firms and accounting departments leads to improvements in efficiency, a gradual increase in the share of AI workers, and a decrease in junior accounting employees. If this trend continues, would it signal the beginning of an era of diminishing demand for new accounting professionals and a shift in the required skill set of new accounting employees? The aim of the workshop, which, by happenstance, occurred the same week that OpenAI introduced ChatGPT, was to bring together Accounting Information Systems researchers and representatives from leading accounting firms for a conversation on the implications of AI for the accounting profession and related research opportunities. Although the panelists at the time had no way of knowing the capabilities of generative AI models like ChatGPT, their main message was timely and appropriate: Accountants with AI will replace accountants.

The Evolution of Accounting Information Systems Research: A Bibliometric Analysis of Key Concepts and Influential Authors

This research paper provides a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of the evolution of Accounting Information Systems (AIS) research, focusing on key concepts and influential authors. This research uses a systematic data collection process, gathering scientific publications from leading academic databases. Clear inclusion and exclusion criteria were established to select relevant articles for analysis. This methodology uses a variety of bibliometric techniques, including citation analysis, co-citation analysis, keyword analysis, and network analysis, to comprehensively explore the data set. Its findings reveal historical developments and the current state of SIA research, identifying highly cited articles, influential authors, prominent keywords, and collaborative networks. This analysis provides insight into the evolution of key concepts in AIS research and the contributions of influential authors. The results have implications for future research, guide researchers in selecting research areas and promote interdisciplinary collaboration. This research contributes to a better understanding of the trends, patterns, and influential contributors that have shaped the field of AIS.

Reimagining design science and behavioral science AIS research through a business activity lens

In this paper, we present a novel approach for reimagining the scope and impact of design science and behavioral science accounting information systems (AIS) research. We do so by first explicitly considering the broad impact of accounting on business functions. The proliferation of information technology throughout the organization coupled with the blurring of the lines between “accounting” and “business” activities has spawned a world where (technology-enabled) accounting has truly become the language of (technology-driven) business. Leveraging the International Standards Organization model of the phases of business activity, we highlight how utilization of information systems artifacts in each business activity phase yields a broad array of AIS research questions. Second, we encourage design science and behavioral science AIS research to work synergistically, such that the outputs of each paradigm inform the research conducted in the other paradigm. We suggest that a more purposeful integration of design science and behavioral science AIS research over time can improve the rigor and relevance of AIS research to advance knowledge in the field, amplify the impact of AIS research for our colleagues in both accounting and information systems, and improve the practical applicability of the research findings.

Cybersecurity Research in Accounting Information Systems: A Review and Framework

ABSTRACT The study of cybersecurity issues plays a fundamental role in accounting information systems (AIS) research. However, as the importance of cybersecurity has continued to grow in other disciplines, such as computer science and management information systems, it has become less clear what is distinct about AIS-based cybersecurity research, what unique insights AIS research has contributed to the study of cybersecurity, and what promising directions for AIS research into cybersecurity remain untapped. In order to answer these questions, we perform a literature review covering 56 articles published in 11 AIS-oriented journals. We find four distinct, yet related, categories of research inquiry: cybersecurity risks and threats, cybersecurity controls, cybersecurity-related assurance, and cybersecurity breaches. In highlighting the key insights uncovered from these four areas, we frame “what we know,” as well as “what remains to be learned,” by outlining a detailed proposal of future research opportunities for AIS researchers.

Reviewing literature through multidimensional representations

Reviewing literature is a demanding task that calls for effective tools. After examining literature review (LR) practices, this paper develops an innovative approach in representing literature. In particular, the paper introduces depictions based on a three-dimensional structure that enables the generation of unitary and highly informative literature representations, thereby improving the completeness and reducing the mismatch between field complexity and the traditional figures and tables of LRs. The viability of the designed solution is shown by replicating a published LR on a representative topic of the accounting information systems (AIS), namely a literature review on enterprise resource planning systems in SMEs. Its benefits arise from comparing the literature representation developed here with the original figures. The paper has methodological and practical implications. Indeed, it proposes a structured approach to improve the representation of multifaceted literature, but it can also be suitable for other types of analysis. The efficiency and efficacy benefits that emerged from the evaluation activity make the output of the paper useful both for researchers and academic research users. In the light of developments in AIS research, the article also comments on potential applications in this area by examining some recently published LRs.

Sociomateriality and the metaphysics of accounting information systems: Revisiting agential realism

This paper is a response to Weber’s (2020) call for further debate on the (potential) contribution of agential realism for the understanding of the content and functioning of accounting information systems (AIS) (Weber, 2020). Contrary to Weber’s conclusions, we suggest that agential realism can make important contributions to AIS studies. In order to realize such contributions we have to acknowledge that agential realism is a metaphysical framework rather than a theory or epistemology. Its potential contributions should be set against the potential contributions stemming from the metaphysical framework that is dominant in AIS research: representationalism. In representationalism, for the purpose of creating a knowledge base for a distant ‘knower’ who acts on the basis of such knowledge, accounting information systems are assumed to represent or provide information about a reality that is ‘out there’. In agential realism, accounting is assumed to be performative in (re)configuring local and temporal boundaries between meaningful positions for humans and non-humans. Rather than putting the human subject (the knower) at the centre of the stage, an agential realist account of accounting foregrounds accounting practices in their interrelation with other practices. It acknowledges that accounting participates in the (re)configuring of a sociomaterial world.

Digitalization in accounting–Warmly embraced or coldly ignored?

PurposeThe Accounting Information Systems (AIS) research field emerged around 30 years ago as a subfield of accounting but is at risk to develop further as an isolated discipline. However, given the importance of digitalization and its relevance for accounting, an amalgamation of the parent research field of accounting and the subfield of accounting information systems is pivotal for continuing relevant research that is of high quality. This study empirically investigates the distance between AIS research that is included in accounting literature and AIS research that prevails in dedicated AIS research outlets.Design/methodology/approachTo understand which topics define AIS research, all articles published in the two leading AIS journals since 2000 were analyzed. Based on this topical inventory, all AIS studies that were published in the top 16 accounting journals, also since 2000, are identified and categorized in terms of topic, subtopic and research methodology. Next, AIS studies published in the general accounting field and AIS studies published in the AIS field were compared in terms of topics and research methodology to gain insights into the distance between the two fields.FindingsThe coverage of AIS topics in accounting journals is, to no small extent, concentrated around the topics “information disclosure”, “network technologies” and “audit and control”. Other AIS topics remain underrepresented. A possible explanation might be the focus on archival studies in accounting outlets, but other elements might play a role. The findings suggest that there is only a partial overlap between the parent accounting research field and the AIS subfield, in terms of both topic and research methodology diversity. These findings suggest a considerable distance between both fields, which might hold detrimental consequences in the long run, if no corrective actions are taken.Originality/valueThis is the first in-depth investigation of the distance between the AIS research field and its parent field of accounting. This study helped develop an AIS classification scheme, which can be used in other research endeavors. This study creates awareness of the divergence between the general accounting research field and the AIS subfield. Given the latter's relevance to the accounting profession, isolation or deterioration of the AIS research must be avoided. Some actionable suggestions are provided in the paper.

Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) in auditing

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are gaining increasing attention regarding their potential applications in auditing. One major challenge of their adoption in auditing is the lack of explainability of their results. As AI/ML matures, so do techniques that can enhance the interpretability of AI, a.k.a., Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI). This paper introduces XAI techniques to auditing practitioners and researchers. We discuss how different XAI techniques can be used to meet the requirements of audit documentation and audit evidence standards. Furthermore, we demonstrate popular XAI techniques, especially Local Interpretable Model-agnostic Explanations (LIME) and Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP), using an auditing task of assessing the risk of material misstatement. This paper contributes to accounting information systems research and practice by introducing XAI techniques to enhance the transparency and interpretability of AI applications applied to auditing tasks.

The Joint Effects of Argument Quality and Interactivity on Nonprofessional Investors' Perceptions of Disclosure Credibility and Investment Decisions

ABSTRACTWe employ the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) to investigate the dual influences of the central route (i.e., argument quality) and the peripheral route (i.e., interactivity) on investment-related judgments and decisions. In a between-subject experiment using 297 participants from Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk) to proxy for nonprofessional investors, we examine the joint effects of interactivity, argument quality, and news valence. Our results indicate that nonprofessional investors are more likely to invest more in firms when the argument quality of a disclosure is strong and accompanied by interactive presentations. Further, PLS analyses examining perceptions of interactivity provide additional insights about the mechanisms of the effects. This research contributes to the disclosure literature by demonstrating the influence of increased interactivity in disclosure settings, and to the accounting information systems research on interactivity in financial reporting by demonstrating the importance of considering perceived interactivity in addition to the provision of actual interactive design features.

JISWorkshop on Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Research: Views from RPA Industry Leaders and AIS Researchers

<i>JIS</i>Workshop on Robotic Process Automation (RPA) Research: Views from RPA Industry Leaders and AIS Researchers

The influence of power strategies in AIS implementation processes

This study is based on a longitudinal in-depth case study, conducted in a Portuguese public-sector organization, where the accountants adopted a strategic business partner role and promoted the implementation of two new accounting information systems (AIS), under the context of increasing business competition. Given their role, we examined how the implementation processes of such AIS were influenced by the accountants’ power strategies, adopting an organizational power narrative inquiry grounded on the four power dimensions proposed in Hardy’s (1996) framework: power over resources, power over decision-making processes, power over meanings and power of the system. As a result, this study contributes to the literature available on AIS by discussing the strategic business partner role of (management) accountants in a specific case; and by offering new insights into AIS research under the topic of accounting change through the exercise of power. Our research also contributes to the literature on organizational power by providing theoretical developments to Hardy’s (1996) power framework.

A conceptual foundation of design and implementation research in accounting information systems

This structured literature review focuses on the design and implementation of systems in Accounting Information System (AIS) research. The review has two objectives: 1) To look in depth at AIS research regarding the design and implementation of information systems related to accounting in the last fifteen years; 2) To understand design and implementation issues in AIS. To do so, this research examines the current state of design and implementation research in the domain of AIS, using a structured review of abstracts in top-level Information Systems, Accounting, and AIS journals. Using a design science in IS theoretical framework, the review categorizes themes and trends in AIS literature. Some of the most relevant themes include audit/auditors, enterprise resource planning, monitoring and control, adoption, and decision making. The most relevant issues include training, commitment, investment, culture, and existing business processes. The research includes gaps, limitations, and opportunities for future research.

A Bibliometric Study of Accounting Information Systems Research from 1975-2017

Accounting Information Systems automates accounting information. In prior literature, there is no consensus as to research areas to be included or excluded from AIS researches, coupled with the relatively scarce literature on AIS. The objective of this paper was to quantitatively analyze the volume and impact of AIS literature. Research documents retrieved from the Scopus database were based on defined search terms relating to Accounting Information System (AIS). A bibliometric approach was employed to quantitatively analyze the volume and impact of 727 publications in the AIS research domain, this study focussed on determining the yearly distribution, national contributions, authorship patterns, leading prolific authors, productive institutions, publication outlets, documents types, key issues, citation trends of AIS research publication from 1975-2017. Key findings in this work indicated that there was no steady growth in volume of AIS research publication, Malaysia was the only developing country that featured as one of the top 10 national contributors to AIS research with China and Indonesia being the only emerging economies, also only 159 authors contribute to the 727 publications on AIS research, double authored publications had the highest number of publication as against others, only 5 of the top 10 outlets of AIS research were core accounting outlets, asides the obvious keywords of ‘accounting information system’, ‘information system’ keywords such as Internal Controls, Auditing, Regulatory Compliance, Management Control were the most dominant. While AIS adoption is becoming the mainstream in most developed countries, more investments in ICTs deployment and education will enable developing countries to reap the benefits of these innovations. Key words: Accounting information system, AIS, bibliometrics, scientometrics, citation analysis