The Effects of Changing AIS on User Experience and Business Role

Abstract

Technology has become a dominant factor in many aspects of modern life. This research explores how technology has influenced the field of accounting through the advancement of Accounting Information Systems (AIS). To address the issue of the qualification of students entering the accounting profession, two populations were surveyed. Students who were previously enrolled in an AIS class at SUNY Brockport were surveyed about their comfort level with AIS before and after the class, along with their outlook on technology in the workforce. Accounting professionals were surveyed on their usage of systems in their companies, their preference towards change, and their first-hand accounts of changing technology in the workplace. The results of this research shows that while having an AIS class significantly helps prepare students for the real world, there are ways to improve the course content to provide even better professional candidates. To be successful, students must achieve a foundational grasp on system usage the same way that debits and credits are a foundation to the whole accounting cycle. Students should be exposed to a multitude of different accounting software so that they learn to move beyond “point and click” to a stage of analysis that will allow them to adapt to whatever systems they see later in their careers. For this to occur, either a second AIS class would be required, or a whole new major should be added, focusing on the importance of AIS. In the professional world, the changes in technology and AIS are causing restructuring of both the company structure and the human resource usage. Soon the new-hire data entry position will be obsolete as computers take over and the whole process becomes automated; thus ushering accounting into the age of analysis and forecasting as opposed to book keeping and data entry.