The Effects of Technology on the Accounting Profession

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The Effects of Technology on the Accounting Profession November 3, 2013 XACC/210 Information systems have changed the accounting profession in many ways over the years. For the most part, these changes have had a positive effect in the accounting world. The changes in technology have increased productivity and efficiency for faster reporting. Technology has also made accounting more accurate. Years ago, accountants would keep financial records of a business using a handwritten general ledger. A general ledger is an accounting system, where every transaction is posted using debits and credits. All transactions are needed for the ledger and the information was very useful for the company. Today, the standard method for accounting is all computerized. Software has replaced paper ledgers and paper files. Accounting technology has increased individual productivity by using internal math checks and automatic account balancing features to limit input errors. This helps accountant’s focus on verifying the accuracy and validity of financial information, rather than rebalancing the numbers to determine math errors. Accounting software also allows accountants to select various accounts and journals for financial reports, limiting the amount of time spent digging through countless pages of handwritten data. Additionally, input errors can usually be corrected quickly and easily, allowing more time to be spent on other accounting tasks. (Vitez, 2013) The top technologies in the accounting profession are mobile devices and cloud computing. “(The) cloud and mobile devices (phones, tablets, ultrabooks, etc.) will continue to help further integrate technology into all aspects of a CPA’s daily duties,” Cieslak said. “We refer to this as pervasive computing.” (Drew, June 2012) In the organization where I work, technology has changed and has become much more
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