In our opinion, it will be important for all the agents in the ecosystem to understand how blockchain provides similar benefits. For example, due to the potential risks of disclosing information, we assume that blockchain will have a more restrictive effect on business entities than non-profit organisations, because non-profits tend not to hold as many commercial secrets. Each of the papers on this topic discusses ideas about how the role of accountants and accounting treatments would change if/when blockchain becomes a mainstream technology. For example, several authors discuss the advantages of using blockchain to record transactions on a real-time basis (Yermack, 2017; Dai and Vasarhelyi, 2017).
The tool is compatible with multiple public blockchains and digital assets, including Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, Ripple, Dash, and all ERC20 tokens, with more being added on demand. Deloitte’s 2019 Global Blockchain Survey found that 53 percent of respondents say blockchain has become a critical priority for their organizations (up 10 points from the prior year), and 83 percent see compelling uses for blockchain. Unless existing processes and systems are truly scrutinised for their potential to benefit from blockchain technology, the full range of opportunities that blockchain presents will not be realised. Blockchain will only become a “game-changer” if all parties involved in the accounting ecosystem are open to its potential. Papers on this topic are mostly written from the perspective of a company implementing blockchain.
The simultaneous protection of data privacy and maintenance of data accuracy is an important area for future research. Further, the ways of creating effective smart audit contracts and smart reporting contracts should also be studied with a special focus on executing traces and enforceability (Schmitz and Leoni, 2019). With the ability to autonomously execute some audit procedures based on blockchain, smart contracts will provide stakeholders with already partly verified information (Rozario and Vasarhelyi, 2018). La Torre et al. (2018) claim that participants in the accounting ecosystem may act as auditors themselves. Accounting information may be verified by different actors thanks to the assurance abilities of blockchain and because companies can continuously share information. Moreover, there is the possibility to automate some external auditing functions over the blockchain to improve audit quality and narrow the expectation gap between auditors, financial statement users and regulatory bodies (Rozario and Vasarhelyi, 2018).
The Future
Routine accounting data would be recorded permanently with a timestamp, preventing it from being altered ex-post, church accounting which Alles (2018) argues would further ensure the reliability of current accounting information systems. Real-time accounting would also reduce the potential opportunities for earnings management (Yermack, 2017). Additionally, using blockchain means anyone can review all transactions, even those that may be suspicious or related to conflicts of interest. Irreversible transactions also mean accountants could not backdate sales or report depreciation expenses in future periods when they should be expensed immediately. As a tool for accuracy and transparency, blockchain places pressure on accountants to justify their accounting choices.
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Additionally, the topics cited match the topics revealed by the LDA analysis, particularly new challenges for auditors, opportunities and challenges of blockchain applications, and the regulation of cryptoassets. lifo liquidation Blockchain is a technology for storing and verifying transactional records that works by adding “blocks” of data to a ledger, called the blockchain, that is maintained across a network of peer-to-peer computers (Coyne and McMickle, 2017). It is a potentially disruptive technology that has begun to have dramatic impacts on the business models and market structures of many industries (Casey and Vigna, 2018), including accounting (Bonsón and Bednárová, 2019; Deloitte, 2016). However, the wealth of information produced about blockchain can make it challenging for researchers to stay up-to-date with the latest developments (Cai et al., 2019; Linnenluecke et al., 2020).
Blockchain in accounting research: current trends and emerging topics
Finally, the validity of the results can only be considered at the time of the analysis, as literature reviews “are not a panacea” (Massaro et al., 2015, p. 546). They only identify the current state of the field, and they only offer pathways for future research directions at a particular point in time. Other authors have also proposed different ways of applying blockchain technology in accounting and auditing (e.g. Yu et al., 2018; Kokina et al., 2017; Faccia and Mosteanu, 2019; Bonsón and Bednárová, 2019), without offering a comprehensive overview. Similarly, Bonsón and Bednárová (2019, p. 737) conclude that “blockchain is an under-explored phenomenon, and future research is necessary to obtain a full understanding of this emerging technology and its implications for the accounting and auditing sphere”. The literature review reveals a pressing need for legal frameworks to govern blockchain technologies and regulate cryptoassets.
The main advantage of blockchain technology is that once a transaction is approved by the nodes in the network, it cannot be reversed or re-sequenced. The inability to modify a transaction is essential for the blockchain’s integrity and ensures that all parties have accurate and identical records. Because blockchain is a distributed system, all changes to a ledger are transparent to all the how to create a statement of stockholders’ equity members of a network.
Report an issue or find answers to frequently asked questions
- It will take time before companies implement blockchain as a ‘foundational technology’, and any disruptions to the profession will take place over years (Iansiti and Lakhani, 2017, p. 4).
- The divergence of crypto classifications means that worldwide regulation and availability of information on cryptoassets will be the most important factors for their spread.
- Identifying emerging topics in the field is an important element in generating insights for future research (Small et al., 2014) and leading research innovations (Cozzens et al., 2010).
- Other authors have also proposed different ways of applying blockchain technology in accounting and auditing (e.g. Yu et al., 2018; Kokina et al., 2017; Faccia and Mosteanu, 2019; Bonsón and Bednárová, 2019), without offering a comprehensive overview.
- Unless existing processes and systems are truly scrutinised for their potential to benefit from blockchain technology, the full range of opportunities that blockchain presents will not be realised.
Blockchain also saves time by increasing the speed of transactions, reducing human error and minimising fraud (Kokina et al., 2017; O’Leary, 2017). Smart contracts on the blockchain execute when certain conditions are met without the need for trusted intermediaries to verify the fact (Coyne and McMickle, 2017; Kokina et al., 2017). There is already evidence to show how blockchain may reduce costs in the finance industry (e.g. Fanning and Centers, 2016; Kokina et al., 2017). However, some researchers are not convinced that blockchain will dramatically impact the auditing profession.
