How Big Data Will Change Accounting

SYNOPSIS

Big Data will have increasingly important implications for accounting, even as new types of data become accessible. The video, audio, and textual information made available via Big Data can provide for improved managerial accounting, financial accounting, and financial reporting practices. In managerial accounting, Big Data will contribute to the development and evolution of effective management control systems and budgeting processes. In financial accounting, Big Data will improve the quality and relevance of accounting information, thereby enhancing transparency and stakeholder decision making. In reporting, Big Data can assist with the creation and refinement of accounting standards, helping to ensure that the accounting profession will continue to provide useful information as the dynamic, real-time, global economy evolves.

Keywords:  Big Data, financial accounting, managerial accounting, video and image data, audio data, textual data

Article Citation:

J. Donald WarrenJr.,Kevin C. Moffitt, and Paul Byrnes (2015) How Big Data Will Change Accounting. Accounting Horizons: June 2015, Vol. 29, No. 2, pp. 397-407.