Digitalization and automation of accounting

This master thesis is focused on the analysis of the current state and impact of digitalization and automation on the process of input-processing-output of accounting information, with a focus on the automation of the processing of issued and received invoices, which is one of the typical routine activities that could be replaced by a robot. It is not only accounting itself and its legislation that is undergoing change, but also the requirements of the accounting profession. Electronic identity contributes to a more efficient circulation of documents. In the area of international standards, in addition to the unification of content, the format of the information reported is also being unified, thereby revolutionising the financial statements transition that are not only human-readable but also machine-readable. The aim of the investigation in the practical part is to create an invoice record in an accounting program and attach a PDF document to the record. This part of the thesis examines the time consuming nature of this process using human factors compared to a robot using optical character recognition, compares the advantages and disadvantages of both options and presents an analysis of how much time and associated personnel costs can potentially be saved per employee processing invoices for one client. The analysis uses data from a specific accounting firm, which for the purposes of this paper is referred to as External Accounting Firm X.