The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Improving Accounting and Auditing Practices: A Study of Selected Organizations in Uganda

This systematic literature review (SLR) synthesises evidence on how artificial intelligence (AI) is improving accounting and auditing practice, with specific attention to selected organizations in Uganda: audit and accountancy firms, public-sector accounting entities, small and medium-sized practices, and the professional body. The review followed PRISMA 2020 and an a priori protocol. Peer-reviewed and professional-body sources published from 2015 onward were identified through multi-database searching and citation chasing, screened against explicit criteria, appraised with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) and an adapted checklist for conceptual papers, and analysed through thematic synthesis. Nineteen studies were included. This systematic literature review found that: (1) documented applications and benefits; (2) low and uneven adoption, especially in Uganda; (3) technology, organizational and environmental determinants of adoption; (4) skills, education and workforce effects; and (5) ethics, governance and regulation. Ugandan evidence is limited to one survey of professional accountants and one conference study of public-sector readiness; no study measured audit-quality or cost outcomes of AI in a Ugandan organization. Most evidence relies on perception data from single-country cross-sections. Implications: Regulators, firms and educators should prioritise skills, governance and affordable tooling; researchers should pursue organization-level, longitudinal and outcome-based designs. Originality: To our knowledge, this is the first SLR focused on AI in accounting and auditing in Uganda.