Accountants' attitudes to digital technology: A barrier to the digital transformation of accounting?

The digital transformation of accounting depends, in large part, on accountants being able to continuously upgrade their digital technology competencies in line with ongoing and accelerating digital technology changes. Doing so is critical to accountants being able to deliver digitally transformed or transforming accounting roles, processes/workflows, and value outputs. However, an apparent inference from information systems and learning science researchers is that accountants' attitudes to new technology and technology-related issues could be barriers to the efficient and effective attainment of required digital technology competencies. Combining survey research and quantitative content analysis, we investigate the nature and prevalence of accountants' attitudes to new technology. We then discuss the implications of these attitudes and their prevalence for the required upgrading of accountants' digital technology competence and for efforts to digitally transform accounting practice. Our research is related to research on the digital transformation of accounting, research on the expectation-performance gap in accounting education, and research on effective strategies for translating required technology competencies into accounting practice.