FROM DIGITIZATION TO TECHNOLOGICAL DEPENDENCE: IMPLICATIONS OF COMPUTERIZED ACCOUNTING SYSTEMS

Abstract

The increasing computerisation of accounting has improved the speed, accessibility, integration and processing capacity of accounting information systems. However, as accounting activities become increasingly embedded in software, databases, networks, digital infrastructure and specialized technical capabilities, organisations also become more reliant on the technological environment supporting those activities. This paper examines the implications of this transition and proposes the Computerized Accounting Technological Dependence Management Framework (CATDMF). The paper adopts a conceptual review approach, drawing on literature on computerised accounting systems, information systems success, technological risks, organisational resilience and technology adoption. The review indicates that existing studies have largely examined the benefits of computerised accounting, system quality, internal controls, specific technological threats, information quality, organisational performance or resilience as separate areas of inquiry. CATDMF integrates these perspectives by proposing a sequential relationship from computerisation to technological dependence, disruption exposure and accounting-system implications, while positioning technological dependence management as a conditioning mechanism. The framework identifies four management dimensions: human capacity, continuity and recovery mechanisms, control and verification, and technological flexibility. Systems Theory, Organizational Resilience Theory and Diffusion of Innovations provide the theoretical foundation for the framework. The paper contributes by contextualizing established concepts within computerised accounting and shifting attention from technological adoption alone to the organisational capabilities required to sustain accounting operations when technology is disrupted, unavailable or compromised.