Process and Impact Evaluation of Artificial Intelligence in Managerial Accounting: A Systematic Literature Review

Abstract

This systematic literature review examines how researchers have evaluated the role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Management Accounting (MA), focusing on process and impact evaluations. The findings of the nine recent research papers completed between 2019 and 2023 were incorporated in this review. The study followed a three-phase, structured process: planning the review, conducting it, and reporting the findings. The study utilized multiple databases to source relevant papers and applied stringent inclusion and exclusion criteria, followed by a thematic synthesis approach. The results showed that the reviewed articles highlighted four aspects of AI in MA process evaluation: technological acceptance and usability, ethical and security considerations, skills and competence, and the decision-making process. Two aspects were pinpointed under impact evaluation in the reviewed articles: enhancement of accounting practices and the evolution of roles and skills. Two important predictions that the papers repeatedly asserted were that AI adoption in MA is still in its early stages but will transform the field soon. It will dramatically enhance MA practices, creating new challenges and skills requiring urgent attention. Ethical and security considerations were also stressed in the reviewed articles. As AI algorithms are developing rapidly, the findings are limited to only giving a broad picture of the recent state of the field. However, this paper identified aspects of AI in MA evaluation that should contribute to setting evaluation criteria, which would be helpful for future assessments. In light of the high potential of AI in the field of MA, this paper contributes to developing a comprehensive overview of the use of AI in this field. Furthermore, systematic reviews on AI applications in the MA field are limited. Therefore, this research addresses this gap by systematically reviewing recently published research papers.