The Effects of Technology on the Accounting Profession

Technology can come a long way in a short time; this is especially true with accounting programs, and there is no reason to suggest the progression will stop now, but instead will continue to progress. There are many reasons technology's expansion is important to accountants, these can range from making an accountants job easier to increasing over-all efficiency.

There are six main reasons that accounting and technology are closely related, "One reason for IT's importance is because information technology must be compatible with, and support, the other components of an AIS" (Bagranoff, 2010). This one is particularly important because compatibility is big issue and needs to be handled appropriately to avoid problems later. "A second reason why information technology is important is because accounting professionals often help clients make hardware and software purchases. A third reason why information technology is important to accountants is because auditors must evaluate computerized systems. A fourth reason why IT is important to accountants is because they are often asked to evaluate the efficiency. A fifth reason why information technology is important to accountants is because IT profoundly affects the way they now work, and how they will work in the future. A final reason why information technology is important to accountants is because understanding how IT affects accounting systems is vital to passing most accounting certification examinations" (Bagranoff, 2010). All of these reasons start to paint a picture of why accounting and technology is so intertwined to each other. You could ask the question could accounting exist without these technologies, and of course they can and have in the past, but as businesses have changed so must the accounting field. The technologies don't change the core principals they just expand on them and make accounting a streamlined and efficient process.

There are several technologies that deserve to mentioned for helping innovate the accounting profession, the first being the use of source documents. "The starting point for collecting accounting data in most AISs is a source document. Manual examples include time cards, packing slips, survey forms, employee application forms, patient intake forms, purchase invoices, sales invoices, cash disbursement vouchers, and travel reimbursement forms. Computerized examples include airline reservation screens, bank deposit screens, and web-based customer-order for" (Bagranoff,