Comparison of selected stages in the digitization of the accounting process in the era of COVID-19

Abstract

The aim of the article is to compare and characterize selected issues related to the digitization of accounting processes that chief accountants and other employees of accounting departments in general and accountancy companies face on a daily basis, as an expression of the need to smoothly define new phenomena in this area and an attempt to create a partial analysis of the most important consequences of the current legal status in Poland in this area. Due to the dynamic changes currently taking place in balance sheet law and tax law in Poland, special attention has been paid to the preparation, submission of e-financial statements and their examination in the era of the COVID-19 pandemic. The research hypothesis was verified, which assumed the existence of a cause-and-effect relationship between the choice of the method of identifying accounting data and the methodology of their presentation in the financial statements. To achieve this goal, it was necessary to use the following research methods: detailed analysis of the source materials of a balance nature and taxation as well as deductive and inductive methods.

Progressing digitalization has a huge impact on the shape of the accounting system. We have been dealing with the digitization of accounting for over two decades, but its significant advantages became especially visible during the COVID-19 pandemic. Today we are dealing with online accounting in the form of e-invoices, e-transfers, e-tax declarations, e-financial reports and other accounting documentation in an electronic form. The process of digitizing accounting documentation is an indispensable element of the accounting system, because the creation of information about an economic entity is carried out fully using IT systems, often very technologically advanced. 

Implementing digital solutions in financial reporting is beneficial for the accounting community, entrepreneurs and public administration. This is another step in strengthening the perception of accounting as the information language of company management, thanks to universal access to free information on financial statements in an electronic form. Therefore, ensuring an efficient and transparent domestic accounting system is crucial from the point of view of economic development based on innovations, which are largely financed by this system.