Disruptive Technologies and the Accounting Profession: What Does the Scientific Literature Tell Us?

Abstract

This article examines how disruptive digital technologies are reshaping the accounting profession by integrating bibliometric analysis with a critical, theory-informed synthesis. Using a structured review of Web of Science publications, the study maps the intellectual structure and thematic evolution of research on artificial intelligence, big data analytics, blockchain, cloud computing, and robotic process automation in accounting. The findings reveal a shift from infrastructure-oriented digitalization toward analytics-driven and intelligence-based applications, accompanied by growing attention to decision processes, control mechanisms, and organizational adaptation. Rather than producing uniform benefits, technological impacts are economically contingent, depending on complementary investments in human capital, governance structures, and institutional frameworks. The study advances prior literature by explicitly linking accounting digitalization to efficiency, transaction costs, productivity, and resource allocation. By combining bibliometric evidence with analytical interpretation, the article clarifies when and under what conditions digital transformation in accounting generates sustainable economic value for organizations and institutions across contemporary professional contexts.