TITLE:
Does Automation of the Accounting Profession Affect Employability? An Exploratory Research from Lebanon
AUTHORS:
Hassan Rkein, Zeinab A. Issa, Farah J. Awada, Hussin J. Hejase
KEYWORDS:
Automation, Accountancy, Unemployment, Lebanon
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Business and Management,
Vol.8 No.1,
December
23,
2019
ABSTRACT: Technology advancement and automation of job functions will impact
negatively numerous job categories, among these are accounting jobs. This paper aims to qualitatively assess the impact of
automation of the profession of accounting on employability by conducting a qualitative research using semi-structured
interviews with a convenient sample of Lebanese employees, employers,
instructors and students who were willing to participate and offer their
insights. For that purpose, a literature review is first conducted to build the
theoretical platform followed by pinpointing what researchers have contended
about the impact of automation. Findings of this research suggest that respondents were aware of the fact that specific
accounting jobs will disappear though new
jobs may substitute the aforementioned specially jobs that necessitate skills such as critical thinking and consultancy.
Findings, as simple as these are, are used as initial indicators to shed light
on the impact of automation on Lebanese management and policy makers in private and public institutions as well as universities. Other researchers
may benefit by conducting more in depth qualitative and/or quantitative analysis to generalize the outcomes.