The effects of digitalization and artificial intelligence on accounting, a research on accountants in Ankara

The aim of this study is to develop a scale that measures how digital tools and artificial intelligence will affect accounting and the knowledge and skills expected from professional accountants and to investigate the relationships between the sub-levels of the scale. A survey scale was developed for this purpose. The scale was applied to 650 people who are Certified Public Accountants, Certified Public Accountants, Independent Accountants and Interns practicing their profession in Ankara. 36 questions were asked to measure the opinions of the participants. The questions were prepared according to the 5-point Likert Type Scale, and the data obtained were analyzed through IBM SPPS Statistic 25 and JAMOVI programs In the study, the level of participation of the participants in the scales was measured by taking their arithmetic means, and the closeness and distance of their participation tendencies were measured by taking their standard deviations. The validity and reliability of the scales were measured by exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, and the relationship between the technical, cognitive and accounting profession sub-factors used in the scale and the demographic characteristics of the participants was tested by difference analyses. The effect of technical and cognitive sub-factors on the accounting profession factor was examined by regression analysis. As a result of measuring the knowledge and skills of accounting professionals on digital and artificial intelligence with valid and reliable scales, it was determined that their digital skills were at a medium level and their artificial intelligence skills were at a very low level, and there were significant differences in technical skills according to gender, age, educational status and professional experience. It was observed that they needed training on digitalization and artificial intelligence, and that the training to be provided would positively affect the accounting profession..