（2002）Impact of Information Technology on Public Accounting Firm Productivity.pdfVIP

Journal of Information Systems Vol. 16, No. 2 Fall 2002 pp. 209ñ222 Impact of Information Technology on Public Accounting Firm Productivity Rajiv D. Banker Hsihui Chang The University of Texas at Dallas Yi-ching Kao University of WisconsinñMilwaukee ABSTRACT: In recent years, information technology (IT) has played a critical role in the services provided by the public accounting industry. However, no empirical research has evaluated the impact of IT on public accounting firms. This study focuses on five offices of an international public accounting firm that recently made large IT investments, primarily in audit software and knowledge-sharing applications. Both qualitative and quantitative infor- mation from the research site are analyzed to estimate the change in productivity following the implementation of IT. The results from both regression analysis and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) indicate significant productivity gains following IT implementation, docu- menting the value impact of IT in a public accounting firm. Keywords: public accounting; information technology (IT); IT productivity; IT adoption; data envelopment analysis. Data Availability: The confidentiality agreement with the firm that provided the data for this study precludes revealing its identity and disseminating detailed data without its written consent. I. INTRODUCTION dvances in information technology (IT) have transformed many firms in professional services industries, but perhaps none as much as those in the public accounti