Importance of Technological Advances on Accounting Profession: Boon or Bane?

I. Statement of the Problem

(Please incorporate Problem identification, Problem description & Problem appraisal)

II. Objectives of the Study

III. Significance of the Study

IV. Scope and Limitations of the Study

V. Operational Framework

• Research Problems
Activities • Advantages and Disadvantages
• Magnitude and Reach of Impact
• Social and Economic
• In depth Studies
• Idirect Effect
• Documentary Secondary Data
• Mechanisms
• Survey-Based Secondary Data
• Cost and Benefit
• Survey
• Product and Process Innovation
• Convenient Sampling for chosen CPA's
• Interview

Research
Impact
Problem

The advances in communication and the revolution in information have turned into

landmarks for the accounting profession, as accounting remained stagnated for many years due to

its deficit position or even due to the lack of information exchange with its users. Among these

advances, the advent of Internet use stands out, which permits information monitoring and virtual

transmission. The integrated use among network computers and the Internet have marked a new

information age (Araújo, Cavalcante e Duarte, 2003).

 The above diagram shows the operational framework for this research endeavor. Starting

off with the research problems, the researchers will conduct series of activities including archival

research or in depth research in the resources available for such data. The researchers will also

conduct a series of survey and interview to its respondents. Finally, after all the data has been

collated, the researchers will analyze and determine the impact of technological advancement in

the accounting profession. The impact will be composed of its advantages and disadvantages,

magnitude, reach of impact and the like.

VI. Research Design ( incorporate Purpose of research Purpose of research, Unit of analysis,

Point of focus and Time dimension)

This study is a descriptive, correlational and an exploratory research that attempts

to assess the existing data and information concerning technology advancement and its

impact on the accountancy profession as a whole may it be in public, academe,

government and private practice.

Descriptive research will be used in this endeavor to obtain information concerning the

current status of the phenomena to describe "what exists" with respect to variables or conditions

in a situation, (Key, 1997). It helps in providing answers to the questions of who, what, when,

where, and how associated with a particular research problem; it cannot conclusively ascertain

answers as to why (Anastas, 1999). This kind of research can be quantitative or qualitative. As a

descriptive research, the researchers will be using survey method and interview method. The

survey and interview method will be used to develop the questionnaire which included items to

measure the impact of technology advancements in different sector of accountancy profession as

a whole.
 Correlational study on the other hand is generally a quantitative method of research

composed of two or more quantitative variables from the same group of subject’s relationship or

covariation (Waters, 2013). The researchers will associate the impact of technology

advancements to the accountancy profession in a manner that determines whether it is an

advantage or disadvantage for the said profession.

Also, as an exploratory research, it attempts to develop an initial, rough understanding of

a phenomenon and examines into a subject in an attempt to gain further understanding. Also it

often relies on secondary data and is generally a qualitative kind of research. In this kind of

research, the researchers may also opt to use interviews and focus group discussions and gets an

in depth opinion with the accountants and get a better understanding of their natural setting and

the emergence of technology.

The selection of participants has implications for both data collection and the data that are

available for analysis (Burgess, Pole, Evans, & Priestley, 1994) and helps to define the limits for

generalizing the findings (Eisenhardt, 1989). The target participants of this study are in the

persons in the accountancy profession primarily Certified Public Accountants (CPA’s). The

research study will focus on persons engaged in the accountancy profession in different age

groups and different sectors of accountancy profession namely, public, academe, government and

private practice. Furthermore, this research is a cross-sectional kind of research, thus it involves

observation of population or its subset at a defined time and it will only be conducted in a short

period of one (1) month time.

VII. Data Gathering Methods

Secondary data will be mainly used in this kind of research. Secondary data analysis

involves the use of existing data, collected for the purposes of a prior study, in order to pursue a

research interest which is distinct from that of the original work; this may be a new research
question or an alternative perspective on the original question (Hinds, Vogel and Clarke-Steffen

1997, Szabo and Strang 1997). Before using secondary data in this research, it must be evaluated

according to its availability, relevance, accuracy and sufficiency. Data is available when it is

readily obtainable in different sources that can be freely accessed anytime by the researcher. A

data is relevant on the other hand if it meets the requirements of the problem in a way that it has

the same unit of measurement and the concepts are the same and it is not outdated. A data is

accurate when a specification and methodology is used, margin of error is examined, and the

source is reliable. Also, a data is sufficient when there is an adequate data available to the

researchers of the study.

In this kind of data gathering method, documentary secondary data will be used and it

includes written documents like notices, correspondence, minutes of meetings, reports to

shareholders, diaries, transcripts of speeches and administrative and public records and non-

written documents like tape and video recordings, pictures, drawings, films and television

programs, DVD/CD. Survey-based secondary data will also be used. It is the data collected by

questionnaires that have already been analyzed for their original purpose; examples of which

include censuses, continuous/regular surveys and ad hoc surveys.

A survey questionnaire will also be used in data gathering. Appropriate questions will be

modified from related research and individual questions formed by the researchers will be used in

the examination which is essential instrument of research, related to a series of written questions,

relative, about the scope of this paper. In addition, the researchers will conduct a group interview

for them to be knowledgeable about the effects of technology that has occurred in the daily

activities in the accounting profession.

In summary, multiple-source secondary and primary data is applied in this kind of

research and it is based entirely on documentary or on survey data, or can be an amalgam or the
two. The key factor is that different data sets have been combined to form another data set prior

to your accessing the data.

After the collection of secondary and primary information from the different sources, the

data collected will be compiled and tabulated and the results of the tabulation will be analyzed for

interpretation. Furthermore, for accuracy purposes, observation method of data gathering will also

be used to gather primary information or firsthand data since no variable was being taken into

account in this kind.