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Digital disruption: unveiling antecedents propelling the revolution in contemporary accounting practices

Sakshi Bathla (LM Thapar School of Management, Thapar University, Patiala, India)
Himanshu (Department of Management Studies, Netaji Subhas University of Technology, New Delhi, India)
Farah Ahmad (Dar Al Uloom University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)

Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change

ISSN: 1832-5912

Article publication date: 21 June 2024

148

Abstract

Purpose

This study aims to analyse the relative prominence of antecedents of digital accounting practices in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) industry. The Ministry of MSME defines the sector as comprising manufacturing enterprises and enterprises rendering services in terms of investment in plant and machinery and the annual turnover. The study is motivated by the rapid usage of digitalisation that has become the driving force guiding organisational development.

Design/methodology/approach

This study builds on technological–organisational–environmental framework to analyse the objective. It identifies five technological sub-antecedents, six organisational sub-antecedents and five environmental sub-antecedents. Data were gathered from 202 accounting professionals from MSMEs and academicians. Semi-structured interviews with experts were also conducted to corroborate the analysis of results. Then, the study applied fuzzy analytic hierarchy process to analyse the prominence.

Findings

This study finds that the technological antecedent captures the topmost position among all three antecedents, followed by organisational antecedent. They play a critical role in driving digitalisation in accounting practices. Among sub-antecedents, the highest priority is provided to technological accounting infrastructure, followed by cybersecurity precautions, training and allied services for accounting software, support from management and availability of accounting resources.

Originality/value

The study contributes to the scant literature by establishing hierarchy of relevance of different antecedents of digital accounting practices in MSMEs. It offers valuable insights to accounting practitioners and MSME owners/managers. They can pay attention to the prominent antecedents identified in this study to build a robust innovation structure for implementing digitalised accounting practices. The study also has significance to policymakers, specifically when they are more focused on the growth and development of MSMEs.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Funding: The authors have not obtained any funding for this manuscript.

Declaration of interest statement: The authors report that there are no competing interests to declare.

Citation

Bathla, S., , H. and Ahmad, F. (2024), "Digital disruption: unveiling antecedents propelling the revolution in contemporary accounting practices", Journal of Accounting & Organizational Change, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAOC-02-2024-0051

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2024, Emerald Publishing Limited

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