Challenges And Prevailing Trends In Technology Industry Accounting Practices: A Business Research Proposal

Project Objectives

In today’s corporate world, the organisations have to face intense competition for which they are adopting strategies that can help them survive and attain a competitive edge. The companies are adopting corporate restructuring route for their organic and inorganic growth. In this concern, the technology organisations are working on a global scale, and it has become necessary for the managers to provide its internal and external stakeholders required financial information so that sound business decisions can be taken, which is facilitated by accounting practices. However, with the changing trends in both finance and technology industry, managers and accountants are facing challenges while performing their functions in the organisations. This research study aims at determining the challenges and prevailing trends in the technology industry in respect of accounting practices.

Research aim depicts the general intentions and the outcomes of a study. This is the statement which is directed towards addressing the long-term objectives of the study(Newell and Burnard, 2011). In this context, the aim of this research study is to identify and analyse the challenges that are faced by the accounting in the global technology organisations.

Research objectives, on the other hand, are the statements which are supplementary to the research aim and defines the steps that are to be taken by the researcher to address the research aim successfully(Kuada, 2012). For the purpose of this study, following are the research objectives developed:

• To study the significance of accounting in the global organisations
• To identify the current trends in the accounting practices used in the technology industry.
• To identify the challenges that are faced by the accounting in the global technology organisations

The aim of the research is to determine the challenges that are faced by managers in accounting for technology organisations. For achieving this aim, a survey will be conducted with the managers working with different technology organisations to obtain thenecessary insights. This research will help the managers in analysing the current trends of the technology organisations, and the challenges that are faced by the managers in accounting. This, in turn, will help them to develop strategies for mitigating these challenges.

A review of literature is conducted to synthesise the viewpoints of the scholars who have contributed in this area. The literature reveals that there are various challenges in today’s context that are creating problems for the managers of the technology organisations in the context of accounting. Few of the major challenges include cloud computing, mobile tools, business process resources, enterprise architecture, its application integration and business intelligence.

According to Atkinson and McKay (2007), the accounting process has also undergone various challenges. It has incorporated various technologies in its working which is helping the managers to manage the business processes. The technologies such as cloud computing and business intelligence have given managers an opportunity to manage the business in real time. Despite these technologies, the main focus of the accounting practices is to identify and measure the economic data and communicate it to various stakeholders.

On the contrary, Bhimani (2008) indicated that even though the technology of cloud computing is appreciated and adopted by various organisations, the finance industry especially the accounting practices are facing difficulties in using these technologies (Cinquini and Tucci, 2007). The finance managers are also considering the online based accounting as a challenge for monitoring the technological organisations (Burns, Ezzamel and Scapens, 2009).

Project Scope

The literature provides that generating value is also a big concern for accounting in the technology industry (Burns and Yazdifar, 2011). Moreover, the increased use of social media by the companies is changing the dynamics of stakeholder communication. The managers believe that when it is difficult to measure something, it is difficult to manage it. The social media and other online channels of communication are considered to be difficult for communicating the financial information of the company to various stakeholders (Cinquini and Tucci, 2007).

Research question refers to the answerable enquiry that is developed in the context of a specific issue. It is the initial stage of any research study and is responsible for providing direction to the research work (Alvesson and Sandberg, 2013). For the purpose of this study, following primary and secondary research questions are developed:

• “What is the significance of accounting in the global organisations?”
• “What are the current trends prevailing in the accounting practices that are used in the technology industry?”
• “What are the challenges faced by the accounting in the global technology organisations?”

The research hypothesis is the statement that is created by the researchers for the results that are speculated by them. These are based on the inductive reasoning, wherein on the basis of the observations, new theories are generated (Glasser, 2014). The null and alternative hypothesis for thus study are as follows:

Null Hypothesis: The accounting for technology organisations do not face any challenges.

Alternative Hypothesis: The accounting for technology organisations face significant challenges.

Theoretical Framework:

Independent Variables:

The independent variables for the study have been identified as the significance of accounting, the challenges faced by the accounting and the current prevailing trends for accounting in the technology organisations. All these independent variables have an impact on the accounting for the technology industry, either directly or indirectly.

Dependent Variable:

Any change in the independent variable is likely to have an impact on the dependent variable. For this study, the dependent variable, therefore, is accounting practices for technology organisations.

Data Collection, Research Design and Sampling

The methodology is a significant part of a research study which provides information regarding the techniques, methods and tools that are used in a research along with the fundamental reasoning for their application. In this context, the proposed study will make use of the positivism paradigm which states that the behaviour of human beings is controlled and passive in nature.This paradigm will be appropriate for the research because it uses observation and experimentation for exploring the facts and is derived from science which helps in the testing of the developed hypothesis after the observation of the prevailing theories(Supino and Borer, 2012). Moreover, it will allow the researcher to develop and conduct the study in an objective and analytical manner.

In the context of the research approach, the research will use the deductive approach as the focus of the study is to make a contribution to the existing theories instead of creating a new theory. This approach will allow the researcher to reach a general conclusion by filtering the information that is gathered during the data collection process (Hair et al., 2012). In addition to this, it will also facilitate the creation of the assumptions that are required for successfully addressing the research problem.

Literature Review

The exploratory research design will be used in the research to integrate different components and methods used in the research such as collection, analysis and assessment of data. As this research design is systematic and adopts a flexible approach, it will offer meaningful insights about the accounting practices in the technology organisations and the challenges that are faced by it. This will also help in finding out the precise solution to the research problems and thereby addressing the research questions.

The data for this research study will be gathered with the help of primary and secondary data collection methods. Under the primary data collection method, the survey will be conducted with 50 finance managers working in the technology organisations to identify the challenges that are faced by them while preparing accounts for the companies. A questionnaire will be provided to the managers which will include close ended questions. The questions will be developed on the basis of the review of the literature.

A sample of 50 finance managers will be appropriate for the study of a sample less that this size may not provide adequate information. Similarly, a sample size greater than this will make it difficult for the researcher to manage. The sample will be selected with the help of random sampling method which will allow all the units of the population an equal and fair chance for being selected for the purpose of the study. Moreover, this will also help in eliminating any possibility of selection bias(Lim and Ting, 2013). The reason for using the survey questionnaire method as a part of primary data collection method is that it will offer the researcher an opportunity to gather data from a large population at a relatively less cost (Wetcher-Hendricks, 2011).

For the secondary data collection method, the data will be gathered by reviewing the work of scholars, academicians and authors present in the books, journals, magazines, newspaper articles and online articles. The annual reports and other memorandums of technology organisations will also be reviewed to gather the necessary information.

The reason for using secondary resources is that it will help in summarising and synthesising the views of different scholars and authors regarding the accounting practices in the technology industry, about the current prevailing trend and the challenges that are faced by accounting (Vartanian, 2010). It will also help in developing a theoretical foundation for the study.

Analysis of data plays a significant role in the research as it transforms the raw data into meaningful information and allows the researcher to derive logical conclusions for the study. In this context, the data gathered with the help of primary and secondary sources will be analysed through the graphical data analysis method.Under the graphical data analysis method, the responses gathered in the form of quantitative data will be analysed in light of the research questions (Jackson, 2008).

The information generated through survey method will be plotted on graphs to make it easier for the users to understand and obtain more information at a single glance (Blaikie, 2009). This method is used also because it is easier to recall information with the help of this method and the comparison and relationship among different variables can be understood.

The drawbacks of the methods and techniques that are used in a research study are termed as research limitations (Creswell, 2003). As the time for the study will be limited, it will be difficult for the researcher to conduct interviews with the managers, due to which online surveys will be conducted. However, in this method, there may be a possibility that the participants do not provide accurate information while filling the survey questionnaire. The predetermined time schedule of the study may also get affected if the participants take a lot of time while filling the questionnaires.

The proposed time schedule for the study is presented below:

Conclusion

It can be concluded that innovations are a key factor in the technology organisation and these are creating problems for the managers to devise such software and policies that can accommodate changes in the accounting and growth and development in information and communication technology. There is a necessity for the managers to develop measures that can mitigate the challenges that are faced in accounting for the technology organisations.

References

Alvesson, M. and Sandberg, J. 2013. Constructing Research Questions: Doing Interesting Research. London: SAGE.

Atkinson, R. and McKay, A. 2007. Digital Prosperity: Understanding the economic benefits of the IT revolution. Washington DC: ITI Foundation.

Bhimani, A. 2008. Strategic Finance. London: Strategy Press.

Blaikie, N. 2009. Designing Social Research. Polity.

Burns, J. and Yazdifar, H., 2011, Tricks, or treats? The Role of Management Accounting is changing. Financial Management, pp. 33-35

Burns, J., Ezzamel, M., and Scapens, R. 2009. The Challenge of Management Accounting Change: Behavioural and Cultural Aspects of Change Management. Oxford: Elsevier/CIMA.

Cinquini, L. and Tenucci, A. 2007. Is the adoption of Strategic Management Accounting techniques really “strategy-driven”? Evidence from a survey. Cost and Performance in Services and Operations, pp. 1-28.

Creswell, J.W. 2003. Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative, and Mixed Methods Approaches. London: SAGE Publications.

Glasser, S. P. (2014). Essentials of Clinical Research. Berlin: Springer.

Hair, J.F., Celsi, M.W., Money, A.H., Samouel, P. and  Page, M.J. 2012. Essentials of Business Research Methods. New York: M.E. Sharpe.

Jackson, S. 2008.  Research Methods and Statistics: A Critical Thinking Approach. Boston: Cengage Learning.

Kuada, J. 2012. Research Methodology: A Project Guide for University Students. Samfundslitteratur.

Lim, W. M. And Ting, D.H. 2013. Research Methodology: A Toolkit of Sampling and Data Analysis Techniques for Quantitative Research. Germany: GRIN Verlag.

Newell, R. and Burnard, P. 2011. Research for Evidence-Based Practice in Healthcare. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

Supino, P.G. and Borer, J.S. 2012. Principles of Research Methodology: A Guide for Clinical Investigators. Berlin: Springer.

Vartanian, T.P. 2010. Secondary Data Analysis. Oxfordshire: Oxford University Press.

Wetcher-Hendricks, D. 2011. Analyzing Quantitative Data: An Introduction for Social Researchers. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

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