Accounting professionals : awareness and perspective on the adoption of cloud accounting

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to analyse the level of awareness of cloud accounting amongst accounting professionals in Malta and understand their perspective on its adoption. Furthermore, the study will identify its benefits and risks and thoroughly analyse them. Design: A mixed methodology was used to meet the research objectives. Firstly, an online questionnaire was sent to accounting professionals who were members of the Malta Institute of Accountants. In addition, six semi-structured interviews with selected accounting professionals were conducted to gain an in-depth understanding of the subject area. Findings: The study found that accounting professionals are familiar with cloud accounting, however most are unknowledgeable of its characteristics and functionalities. Furthermore, slightly more than half of the accounting professionals have not adopted cloud accounting, mostly as a reliable accounting system is already in place. Those that have adopted it have done so mostly due to its ability to be accessed from anywhere at any time, which is also a benefit of cloud accounting. Conversely, a disadvantage of cloud accounting was found to be information security risk. Conclusion: The research has shown that even though cloud accounting adoption has increased over the years, there are still accounting professionals who do not consider themselves to be knowledgeable on the functionalities of the cloud. Moreover, it was established that some accounting professionals consider it to bring along many threats leading to its non-adoption. Value: This research provides that with the advancement of technology, accounting professionals should make use of accounting software that enhances their efficiency and effectiveness. Cloud accounting is one such software and should be adopted in the short term as it is now replacing the traditional accounting systems.