Process Automation in Accounting Firms. A Survey Insight from Practice in Poland

This paper presents the findings of a research study focused on accounting firms and their adoption of accounting process automation, including Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Optical Character Recognition (OCR), Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), and electronic invoicing systems. The primary goal of the research was to provide an updated insight into the current practices of accounting firms regarding the automation of accounting processes. Structured interview surveys were conducted at the end of 2023, using the Computer-Assisted Web Interview (CAWI) method, involving 24 accounting firms in Poland. The key findings reveal that approximately 70% of documents were received electronically in formats such as pdf, scan, image, or EDI, and nearly 80% of all paper documents provided by clients required subsequent scanning via OCR. This paper contributes to a better comprehension of process automation in accounting firms and offers an insight into the current state of this phenomenon in Poland.