Research on the implication of artificial intelligence in accounting subfields: current research trends from bibliometric analysis, and research directions

Abstract

All stakeholders recognize the importance of the information provided by various accounting subfields in the decision-making process and managerial activities, on the other hand, with the exponential growth of artificial intelligence, the traditional way of working in accounting has changed, and research about it has been undertaken worldwide, In this context, This study provides a bibliometric analysis of 931 articles which were published from 1990 to 2022 to look for the research trends and most prominent topics and theme addressed in the literature regarding the application of artificial intelligence technologies in five accounting subfields namely Financial Accounting, Management Accounting, Tax Accounting,  Auditing, and Governmental Accounting.

Using VOS viewer software, this study contributes to accounting literature by analyzing the current common theme in the literature through visualizing and mapping the occurrence and the co-occurrence of authors’ keywords of 931 articles that address this topic, which will allow us to highlight some less explored avenues of research that can therefore be further explored by scholars. The results show that Financial Accounting is the most commonly researched accounting area explored. The theme most frequently addressed is the detection of financial statement fraud. There were few articles discussing Artificial Intelligence’s implication on Tax Accounting and Government Accounting. Further, the study provided six major areas that have been revealed for future research on this topic: the implication of the Internet of Things, Blockchain and Big Data and the Accounting field, Accounting cybersecurity in the artificial intelligence area, XBRL, and Artificial Intelligence in Accounting.

Keywords: Bibliometric, Accounting subfields, Artificial Intelligence, Vosviewer.                                                               

JEL Classification: M4, Q55

Paper type: Theoretical Research