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Valuation is a professional activity based on international and local standards. In the valuation process more than one method can be modified. In this case, a final reconciliation of different opinions of value may be required. It is a matter of fact that the final result of these different valuation methods may vary. Therefore, in the final part of the valuation process, the valuer is required to assign a weight to the different methodologies to reach an appropriate opinion of value. This process is essentially based on valuer’s expertise. This paper aims to propose an automatic procedure of calculating the weights to assist the valuer in the valuation process.

The work provides methodologies to assign the weights through simple mathematical procedures that can be used to support subjective judgement in the valuation process. The models proposed can be applied to other phases of reconciliation inside the valuation process and are based on the collection of previous property data in the same market segment.

Two different methodologies are proposed to support valuers in the valuation process and in particular in the phase of the choice of the weights for final reconciliation purposes.

The implication is the development of an information system to support the appraiser in providing these weights. The models proposed are only two but represent a future, much larger field of research.

The models may help in determining more consistent valuation reports.

Consistent valuation reports for the determination of mortgage lending value may contribute to the stability of the social and economic system, especially after the 2008 non-agency mortgage crisis.

These are original models proposed in literature for such kind of problems.

The purpose of the present paper is to investigate how methods from statistics, natural language processing, information theory, and other scientific fields can be brought to bear on account reconciliation. Practically, the goal is to reduce the number of labor hours it takes to complete a task which is widespread in various subfields of accounting including fraud investigation.

In this paper, the authors explore novel applications of data mining techniques from natural language processing and statistics to a particular account reconciliation problem. The authors are careful to avoid ad hoc heuristics and instead work with techniques that are theoretically justifiable; this means the techniques should be extensible (subject to appropriate modifications) to problem variants other than those that are explicitly considered here. The authors evaluate their techniques based on precision and recall – standard measures from the field of information retrieval.

The paper finds that with careful tuning, it is possible to achieve near 100 percent precision (suggesting that the technique is highly accurate compared with an expert human reconciliation clerk) and close to 100 percent recall.

The current approach, unlike many previous approaches, looks to general principles of information theory rather than relying on heuristics which may work for one problem but not another. This approach is therefore highly general, and would apply to virtually any kind of accounting data (including even data where transaction descriptions are in a language other than English).

Know your customer (KYC), accounting standards, issuance, clearing, and trade settlement became the major barrier to implement accounting, accountability and assurance process in supply chain finance (SCF). Blockchain technology features have the potential to solve accounting problems. This research focuses on exploring how blockchain technology provides solutions to overcome the barriers of accounting process in SCF. The benefits, opportunities, costs and risks related to blockchain adoption are also explored.

Multi-case study and qualitative methods are used with a framework based on blockchain role to overcome the accounting process barriers. Ten blockchain projects in SCF and 29 interviews of participants as a unit of analysis are considered.

The findings indicate that blockchain technology offers solutions to solve accounting, accountability and assurance problems in SCF. Validity, verification, smart contracts, automation and enduring data on trade transactions potentially solve those barriers. However, it is also necessary to consider costs such as implementation, technology, education and integration costs. Then there are possible risks such as regulatory compliance, operational, code development and scalability risk. This finding reflects the current status of blockchain technology roles in SCF.

This study unveils blockchain's SCF accounting potential, emphasizing multi-case method limitations and future research prospects. Diverse contexts challenge findings' applicability, warranting cross-industry studies for deeper insights. Addressing selection bias and integrating quantitative measures can enhance understanding of blockchain's accounting impact.

Accounting professionals can get an idea of the future direction and impact of blockchain technology on accounting, accountability and assurance processes.

This study provides initial findings on the potential, costs and risks of blockchain that is beneficial for parties involved in SCF, especially for banks and insurance underwriters. In addition, the findings also provide direction for the contribution of blockchain technology to accounting theory in the future.

This paper aims to manage access control tasks to satisfy the user privacy needs of online information resources according to social relations and tags.

The study proposes a method for access control management in the online social context. The proposed method includes the access control policy management process, metadata of access control policies, the data of ontologies, tags, and social relations, and conflict detection rules.

Online information sharing and hiding, which needs to consider social relations and mentioned topics, is a unique context and needs a novel access control mechanism. Ontologies are powerful and expressive enough to identify conflicts in access control policies. The paper provides a method using ontologies to control the access control activities based on social relations and tags on web content. The effectiveness of the method's conflict detection rules is validated through several scenarios.

To make the proposed method suitable for widespread usage, further work is required to develop an access control policy specification and conflict detection tool. The proposed method introduces relatively novel usage scenarios, which consider social relationships, and tags compared with existing access control methods for online information sharing.

The proposed access control mechanism can be integrated into existing web sites. Online users can use this method to share information more easily than at present.

The method enables flexible access control in social contexts and handles unavoidable conflicts. It also opens the way to new access control scenarios in online social activities. The method can be used to keep secrets hidden from selected people.

British government approves data network After months of preparation by HM Treasury's Central Computer and Telecommunications Agency (CCTA), the first phase of the Government Data Network (GDN) has now been accepted. Trials of GDN took place in January, and it has now been implemented for daily use in 178 Customs and Excise locations throughout Britain. GDN is operated by Racal Data Networks.

This study aims to provide an empirically informed view on the auditing profession’s readiness to embrace “disruptive” technologies. Relying on evidence from Big 4 employees in Italy, this study examines the factors that motivate auditors to use blockchain technology (BT).

To this aim, this study uses an integrated theoretical frame merging the third version of the technology acceptance model (TAM3) and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). The analytical model is based on an application of the structural equation modelling with partial least square estimation on data gathered through a Likert-based questionnaire.

The findings reveal that the main predictors of auditors’ intention to use blockchain are performance expectancy and social influence. Moreover, auditors’ effort expectancy in relation to this technology implementation and use appears to be a reasonably reliable predictor.

This paper contributes an evidence-based view to the discussion on the impact of automation and disruptive information and communication technologies, on the roles of accounting and auditing professionals. It uses a novel approach to analysis by integrating TAM3 and UTAUT within its theoretical model. It complements and extends the field of studies on technology acceptance by offering fresh insights into auditors’ perceptions. Finally, the paper highlights practical implications for business leaders aiming to use the advantages of BT in audit firms.

Razorpay is a four-year-old Indian B2B fintech startup in digital payments which is venturing into digital lending. It aims to simplify digital payment flows involved in acceptance, processing, and disbursement of payments through superior technology and automation. This case details how Razorpay creates value for businesses by offering service convenience in B2B space. Razorpay started as a payment solutions provider, primarily known for their payment gateway. Over time the market for digital payment in India has matured, with multiple providers offering similar products making it difficult for Razorpay to sustain its growth by using technological leadership and service differentiation. To maintain its growth trajectory, Razorpay has launched multiple new products in the digital payment space as well as announced a foray into creating a marketplace for digital lending through launch of Razorpay Capital. The case provides details of the growth of Razorpay and its move from its core strength of payment gateway

Discusses a successful business process reengineering project that involved purchasing, receiving and accounts payable departments in an international firm in the USA. These three departments’ business processes, workflows and functions are described and analyzed. Methods for improving the existing workflows by developing an auto vouchering system and an electronic data interchange system are suggested. The cost and benefit analysis is applied to evaluate these methods. Implications and recommendations for the top management are discussed, including the insights of the cross‐functional design among departments, the empowerment of employees, the improvement of morale in the departments, the formulation of new policies and procedures for the new system, and the establishment of a separate database system for reference.

The aim of this paper is to explore the effects of adopting and implementing blockchain technology (BT) in accounting and auditing practices in terms of benefits and threats, thus discovering new and upcoming risks and issues.

This paper adopts a critical perspective to investigate how the implementation of BT could affect accounting and auditing practices, providing a reflection on the role of accountants and auditors during such a technological revolution.

This paper highlights the importance of the unreplaceable professional conscience and experience of accountants and auditors compared to the impersonal and standardised operating system of artificial intelligence provided by BT. The development and diffusion of BT are leading professionals to acquaint themselves with new accounting and auditing systems, such as reinventing old practices and finding new ways of taking advantage of blockchain instead of being overwhelmed.

Different from the majority of previous literature contributions, this study looks beyond the potential and undeniable benefits that BT can offer to accounting and auditing environments by focussing especially on the threats and risks caused by its implementation.