ABSTRACT
As digital technologies advance, they are driving a range of disruptions in accounting work (e.g. disrupting the data available for accounting work, disrupting the tools used to perform accounting work, disrupting how accounting processes and procedures can best be performed, and disrupting what roles and activities accountants are able to perform). In this chapter, we explore these different disruptions and discuss how they change accounting work. We then discuss the implications and impacts of these disruptions on the accounting value proposition and on accounting functions (e.g. financial accounting, management accounting, audit, tax, accounting information systems, and business partnering / advisory). Finally, we discuss the key digital technology advancements anticipated to have, or to continue having, a profound direct impact on accounting work (e.g. cloud computing, XBRL, data analytics / data science, artificial intelligence, robotic process automation / intelligent process automation, the internet of things, blockchain), and we identify the specific accounting functions and activities each digital technology is anticipated to have the greatest impact on.
