The Impacts of Technology on Accounting Practices: UK Food Industry

This report delves into the impact of technology on accounting practices, specifically focusing on the UK food industry. It explores the concept of technology in accounting, detailing various methods of implementation such as cloud computing and accounting software. The report further analyzes the challenges encountered during technology adoption, including potential negative impacts on accounting jobs and the need for continuous technological knowledge. Through a literature review and structured analysis, the report examines the significance of technology in improving efficiency and accuracy in financial operations. It also discusses the rationale behind the research, emphasizing the increasing integration of technology in business and the potential benefits for UK retail sectors. Finally, the report offers recommendations to overcome the challenges and enhance the positive outcomes of technology implementation in accounting, concluding with the key findings and contributions of the study.

Accounting and finance

TABLE OF CONTENTS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT...............................................................................................................4
ABSTRACT.....................................................................................................................................5
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION..............................................................................................6
1.1 Research Significance/ Problem............................................................................................6
1.2 Aim and Objectives................................................................................................................6
1.3 Research Questions................................................................................................................6
1.4 Rationale................................................................................................................................6
1.5 Research structure .................................................................................................................7
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW..................................................................................9
2.1 Introduction............................................................................................................................9
2.2 Definition of key terms..........................................................................................................9
2.3 Concept of technology in accounting practices.....................................................................9
2.4 Methods through which technology in accounting practices can be implemented in UK
food industry..............................................................................................................................10
2.5 Challenges while implementing technology in the accounting practices............................12
2.6 Chapter Summary................................................................................................................14
CHAPTER THREE: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK...............................................................15
3.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................15
CHAPTER FOUR: METHODOLOGY........................................................................................16
4.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................16
4.2 Research Design...................................................................................................................16
4.3 Research Procedures............................................................................................................16
4.4 Research Approach..............................................................................................................17
4.5 Research Philosophy............................................................................................................17
4.6 Kind of Data.........................................................................................................................18
4.7 Data Collection....................................................................................................................18
4.8 Data analysis........................................................................................................................18
4.9 Ethical Statement.................................................................................................................19
4.10 Reliability and validity.......................................................................................................19

4.11 Statement of limitation.......................................................................................................19
4.12 Chapter Summary..............................................................................................................20
CHAPTER FIVE: DATA COLLECTION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION............................21
5.1 Introduction..........................................................................................................................21
5.2 Concept of technology in accounting practices in the UK food industry............................21
5.3 Methods of implementing technology in the accounting practices.....................................22
5.4 Challenges in implementation of the technology.................................................................23
5.5 Chapter Summary................................................................................................................25
CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION, LIMITATION, RECOMMENDATION AND
CONTRIBUTION..........................................................................................................................26
6.1 Conclusion...........................................................................................................................26
6.2 Limitation.............................................................................................................................26
6.3 Recommendation.................................................................................................................27
6.4 Contribution.........................................................................................................................27
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................28

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would sincerely thankful to all the people who are involved in the completion of my
research on the topic “ To analyse the impacts of technology on accounting practices: case study
from UK food industry”.
I would like express my thanks to the faculties, my friends and family in providing
continuous support and encouragement which has assisted me in completion of my dissertation.
All the people who have appreciated and encouraged me when I was stuck at a point and it
provides me relief that I have such a caring and loving mentors, friends and family. My heartfelt
thanks.

ABSTRACT
This research paper is based on the topic “Impact of Technology in the accounting
practice. A case study on UK food industry. The technology has become an essential requirement
which has resulted into effective management of the business activities. The impact of
technology and the concept pertaining to it and the methods through which it can be
implemented within an organization is discussed. Based on the finding, it is concluded that the
accounting technology would be having both positive and negative impact over the business
accounting activities and there are certain challenges that might come across which the
organizations are required to overcome or undertake preventive cations.

Topic: “The impacts of technology on accounting practices: case study from UK food
industry.”
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Research Significance/ Problem
Accounting is basically the process through which the financial transactions of the
business is being recorded and then further summarized and analysed in order to draw the
conclusion. It is used for classifying the various business transaction pertaining to which it helps
in effectively analysing the financial outcomes of the business so that better decisions can be
taken resulting into better and improved decision-making (Boylan and Boylan, 2017). Over the
years, the use of technology has increased which has resulted into creation of software for the
purpose of doing accounting and the creation of other reports. In this study, emphasis has been
laid upon the implementation of technology in the accounting practices.
1.2 Aim and Objectives
1.2.1 Research aim
The aim of the research is to analyse the impact of technology on the accounting practices in UK
food industry.
1.2.2 Research objectives
▪ To understand the concept of technology in accounting practices.
▪ To determine the methods through which technology can be implemented in the
accounting practices.
▪ To analyse the challenges in implementing the technology in accounting
practices.
▪ To recommend the ways through which the challenges can be overcome.
1.3 Research Questions
1. What is the concept of technology in accounting practices?
2. What are the methods by which technology can be implemented in the accounting
practices?
3. What are the challenges which might occur in implementing the technology?
1.4 Rationale
The core rationale behind the selection of this topic is that the researcher is having
interest and knowledge in this research topic and along with this as the technology has been

involved in the different parts of the business sector which has resulted into making the workings
more effective. This research will provide knowledge and greater insight into the introduction of
technology in respect to the accounting practices and another reason is that it will be beneficial
for the companies in the UK retail sector resulting into bring higher level of accuracy and
reliability.
1.5 Research structure
Chapter 1: Introduction
The first chapter provides an overview of the research and along with this, it states about
the aim, objectives and the research questions of the study which are to be addressed by the
researcher in this study. Apart from this, the reason behind the selection of the topic is provided
in the rationale.
Chapter 2: Literature review
The second chapter is considered to be the most important which is the literature review
which critically evaluates the topic by taking into consideration the journals, books and articles.
It provides foundation on the research topic and offers the researcher to understand the scholarly
research and provides the synthesis on account of the issues, trends and the concepts pertaining
to the research. The major function of the literature review is brought out the clarity of the
research problem and make improvement in the research methodology and broadening the
knowledge base in respect to the research area.
Chapter 4: Methodology
The third chapter will provide the information pertaining to the research method that is
suitable for carrying out the research project which will result into effectively meeting up with
the research objectives. This provides guidelines to in regard to the way project will be
manageable and carried out smoothly and effectively. It will state about the research approach,
methods, data collection and research types. It studies the methods that can be used and the
principles behind them to develop and approach in order to achieve the objectives set.
Chapter 5: Data collection, analysis and discussion
This chapter states about the ways through which the data is collected in order stay on top
with the recent data and then analysing it to incur meaningful information. This provides an
insight into the different ways through which the data will be gathered and further analysing it to
grab the information which will result into meeting the aim and objectives of the research along

with answering the research questions. The purpose of discussion is to interpret and describe the
importance of the finding in regard to the what is already known pertaining to the research
problem and the new and fresh insight gathered about the problem. The findings are discussed
and compared with the information already present.
Chapter 6: Conclusion, limitation, recommendation and contribution
This is the last chapter in which researcher will restate the main argument and reiterates
the most suitable and supporting evidence for that argument. It will highlight the key points and
how it has meet with the research problems stated. The researcher will summarize the thoughts
derived from the study in the context to the past research on the topic and elaborates on the
importance of the findings. Along with this, it will state the recommendations which can be
implemented in order to overcome the problems or the barriers that comes across.

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
The literature review basically refers to the search and evaluation of the topic on the basis
of the literature already available in regard to the given subject. It surveys the literature in the
UK food industry and along with that synthesises the information into a summary. It critically
analyses the information collected through the way of identifying the gaps in the knowledge. In
this, key terms related to the topic is defined and the themes is explained with the literature from
the previous research.
2.2 Definition of key terms
2.2.1 Meaning of technology
Technology mainly refers to the techniques, skills, methods and processes which is being
utilized by the businesses in respect to the production of goods and services along with
management of the different tasks (Puthiyamadam. 2017). It helps in effective management of
the work in a smooth way along with reduction in errors.
2.2.2 Meaning of accounting
Accounting is the language of finance which is used for the purpose of conveying the
financial information about the organization or the business (Suprapto, 2019). It involves
recording, classifying, summarizing and analysing the financial information and interpreting the
results to the end users.
2.3 Concept of technology in accounting practices
The technology has had an important role to play in within the field of accounting. It has
enabled the business organizations to expand and make use of the computerized system for the
purpose of collecting and recording the data. According to Teru, Idoko and Bello (2019) the up-
gradation in the technology along with the increase in the demand for the accountants has
resulted into making accounting technology highly marketable vocation. The technological
innovation has led to the way accounting is being done nowadays and the manual accounting has
been disappeared and is replaced by the electronic accounting. This not only helps in reduction in
errors but also provides better and more accurate and useful reporting apart from the other
benefits. This makes it crucial for the accountant or the organizations to be aware about the
emerging technology which will help in effectively improving the performance and productivity

of the organization. If the organization fails to identify the changing trend then it will not be able
to effectively meet with the changing market conditions.
As per the view of Esmeray and Esmeray (2020) technology in the accounting practices
will help in keeping the records of the transactions in a better and synchronized way as keeping
the paper records is very expensive in comparison to the technology based system and is also a
time-consuming process. In addition to this, it takes physical space which makes it difficult for
the management to find the information for particular time complex and time taking. Author
further added that use of technology will easy the work and will replace the physical space and
along with that it will speed up the activities as it will become very easy to access the business
transactions which is one of it benefits. Berikol and Killi (2021) emphasized that the use of
technology has changed the way in which the professionals carry out the business. It has given
new shape to the industries including the accounting. But on the other side, it has negatively
affected the jobs of many accountants as everything is automated from the creation of accounts
to the preparation of the reports without any material error. Therefore, it becomes important for
the businesses to take into consideration the negative impact of technology adoption in
accounting and work on mitigating the same which will enhance the reputation of the
organization. Thus, the technology in the accounting practices will have various benefits which
is having the ability to meet up with the changing business requirements.
2.4 Methods through which technology in accounting practices can be implemented in UK food
industry
As stated by Kılıç (2020) it is very crucial thing that every organization requires keeping
in mind which is having the required and updated knowledge in respect to the technology which
is being used along with the usefulness of it. The need will differ from one organization to
another so the way in which it can be introduced within an organization will also vary. Author
stated that there is a noticeable shift in the way technology is being utilized. Nowadays, cloud
computing technology is used is being used worldwide and has created buzz. It basically refers to
the storing and accessing the data online in the cloud instead of making use of the hard drive for
storing the data. It is considered as a big deal in the field of accounting and there are various
popular accounting software being used and only available online such as the QuickBooks
Online, Xero, and FreshBooks. For implementing cloud computing will require to take a
subscription for the purpose of storing and accessing the data and making use of the tools

available like purchase order, asset management and it also involves the multi-currency
accounting. As per the view of Sledgianowski, Gomaa and Tan (2017) there are certain
drawback in respect to utilizing this technology is that it only works when there is internet
connection which might not be possible at all the situations which creates a risk that not all the
parties involved can work on the same. Author further added that cloud storage servers are also
exposed to risk of security. For example, in the year 2016, the popular file sharing service called
Dropbox was hacked though, no data was breached but the passwords were made available on
sale on the dark web. This creates the need for the organization to research about the security
practices being used by the cloud service providers.
As stated by Karajovic, Kim and Laskowski (2019) another way through which
technology can be implemented is the use of blockchain technology which has changed the way
accounting used to be done. It is basically the allocation and decentralization of the database
tech. It can provide protection to encrypted data and maintains the transactions with respect to all
the parties involved. This is useful in all the sectors as it has the potential to transform the
business. In the current scenario, double entry bookkeeping is being done in which the
accountant and the independent auditor verifies the organization's monetary information. With
the usage of this technology, there will be no requirement of such redundancy as the data is
verified without any need of other party. As it involves the automated and full audit of each
transaction. But as per the view of Marshall and Lambert (2018) blockchain addresses are made
up of the separate private keys for every individual and is shared with the person through which
they can access. Thus, if the person loses their private key then the entire process turns into a
failure and nothing can be done in order to save the money or carry out the further transactions.
Therefore, this private results into making the entire blockchain technology a complete failure.
Also, it offers maximum security but some level of risk is always present and it can be very
critical making the intruder gaining control over the system.
According to Moll and Yigitbasioglu (2019) the business scenario is moving towards the
no-coding era in the field of accounting. This means that there will be virtually zero data entry
needed within the industry. The automated technology has provided convenience along with the
replacement of the humans. It is expected that the use of automated technology will result into
increase in the virtual control which will be higher in demand, therefore, the role of accountant
will be highly valued pertaining to this technology. But in contrast to it, there are few drawbacks

or the limitation of the system like it involves the heavy cost of installation, as it requires
hardware and software to be updated from time to time and along with that the cost of training
the employees in making use of this technology is high. This will also lead to the change in the
existing system of accounting and other processes and procedures are interrupted. Al-Htaybat,
Hutaibat and von Alberti-Alhtaybat (2019) emphasized that in case the system fails, an
alternative arrangement is requirement to be made in order to avoid the work loss. But this will
require times in regard to making the process back to the regular mode.
2.5 Challenges while implementing technology in the accounting practices
According to Kokina, Mancha and Pachamanova (2017) when it comes to technology,
there is always certain aspects which creates barriers or posses as challenges for the organization.
The technology like automation and AI has taken the place of the traditional accounting practices
and thus has created fear in the mind of the accountants that their jobs are in danger. As the AI is
becoming very important and capable to manage the complex accounting practices with regard to
the collecting transactions and compiling them in the financial statements without any error.
According to the Gartner estimates, through the way of implementation of AI process in the
accounting practices will result into saving up-to 25,000 hours of the avoidable rework each
year. This can be considered as the good but on the other hand, it will create question in the mind
of the accountant whether they will be required in the organization or not.
As defined by Schaltegger, Etxeberria and Ortas (2017) there is another challenge that is
required to be taken into account is that the accountants are required to diversify their skills in
order to meet up with the changing aspect and methods of accounting. The technology has
resulted into reducing the requirement of the traditional and the rule based accounting skills but
on the other hand, has increased the demand of the financial analysis and the strategy. Therefore,
this is one of the major challenge that might come across which is required to be taken into
account. This challenge is having the capacity to affect or create chaos among the employees and
the management pertaining to making use of technology for doing the accounting work instead
of humans. Dai and Vasarhelyi (2017) emphasized that cyber security is also an important issue
that most of the organizations are concerned with. Accounting information is the major target of
the hackers which is mainly because of the fact that it has a high value which can be useful for
them in blackmailing the organization in lieu of money. It is the role and responsibility of the
accounting professionals for protecting and preventing the financial information from the outside

threats as it contains the important information about the company including the data of contracts
such as the suppliers, clients and the other service providers with amount of transaction being
done. Thus, it is the main issue that stops the business organization in making use of the
technologies like block chain, automation and so forth. But as conveyed by Kornberger, Pflueger
and Mouritsen (2017) even if the organizations do not introduce technology in accounting
practices then too it is open to risk of loss of accounts and information as everything was earlier
being recorded on the paper or in the accounting software which can be accessed by anyone.
Also, everything is recorded in the hard disk which can be tempered and corrupted and in respect
to the papers maintained, there is chance of theft or loss by fire. Thus, everything has pros and
cons which cannot be ignored but measures can be taken to overcome the same.
Staying up to date is the another important issue which is being faced by the organization
as defined by Rikhardsson and Yigitbasioglu (2018). In this, the organizations are required to
stay up to date with emergence of the latest technology along with the updates in the same. The
organization is also required to ensure that the skills of the employees are up to date in order to
handle the changing technological challenges. If the businesses failed to meet with the changes
then it will require it incur heavy expenses. Thus, it is important for the businesses to stay up to
date otherwise, the situation might turn into the other side affecting the business performance.
According to Bebbington, Russell and Thomson (2017) there is huge amount of money which is
required to be invested in order to implement the technology therefore, undertaking effective
research about the software and its various aspect is needed to be done and if the company fails
to do so that the implemented technology may be able to meet with the expectations of the
organization. All this together results into wastage of financial resources.
Apart from the technology related issues, the other issue that the organizations would be
facing is the resistance to change. According to Sivarajah and et.al., (2017) this challenge is
faced by the every organization irrespective of the industry they are into. There are times when
the existing employees resist to change as they are happy and comfortable with the existing
system and do not want to disturb the processes which are being used. This causes problem for
the organizations in introducing technology into the practices which will help in meeting up with
the business objectives efficiently and carrying out the technical processes with ease resulting
into more accurate outcome and the employees can put more focus over the other important

aspects. Therefore, are the most crucial challenges that the organization requires to take into
account in order to reduce the chances of risk and other threats.
2.6 Chapter Summary
It can be inferred form the above that the application of technology in the accounting
systems of the organization is a value added aspects which is beneficial in may ways. The
concept of technology in the accounting practice draws a clear understanding about the
usefulness of the tech for the businesses. It will result into ease of carrying out so that the
management can focus on the other important things and this also helps in reducing the
requirement of human check. This is a time saving process but in contrast to it there are certain
challenges that the business entities might face such as data security issue, cost issue, staying
updated with the changes, upgrade in the existing skills of the employees and so forth. The ways
through which technology can be implemented are the cloud computing services, making use of
the blockchain technology and the automated accounting technology. But each of these methods
are having certain pros and cons which are required to be studied in order to select the most
suitable and valuable to the business.

CHAPTER THREE: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
3.1 Introduction
It is the structure which introduces and describes the theory and explaining the reason
why the research problem exists. In this, literature review is presented in the pictorial view. The
chart below summarizes the framework which is being followed for meeting with the desired
objectives. The topic is divided into themes and the key factors associated with each of the theme
is determined. For instance, the under concept of technology accounts for the global reach,
accuracy in figures and reduction in errors and the same has been done with the other themes as
well. Upon analysis of the factors, the final outcome is being derived which is positive as
technology implementation will be beneficial for the companies in terms of time saving,
reduction in errors and less requirement of physical space.
Impact of technology in
accounting practices
Concepte of
technology
Methods of
implementation
Challenges in
implementing
technology
Factors:
Global usage
Accuracy in
accounting
Reduction in
errors
Factors:
Cloud
computing
Blockchain
technology
Factors:
Data security
concern
Lack of
skills
Positive Outcome
Quick report preparation
Less physical space

CHAPTER FOUR: METHODOLOGY
4.1 Introduction
The research methodology provides information on the methods and procedures which
will be used by the researcher for the purpose of identifying, selecting, processing and analysing
the information pertaining to the selected topic. It allows the users to determine and critically
evaluate the overall validity and reliability of the research. It incorporates the research design,
procedures, data collection procedures, ethical statement and so forth.
4.2 Research Design
For carrying out the study on the analysing the impact of technology over the accounting
practices is the use of descriptive analysis. The reason behind making use of this research design
is that for doing the qualitative study, the descriptive analysis is considered to be more suitable.
Along with that, the descriptive research design helped the researcher in carrying out the detailed
analysis of the research topic and along with this, it involves the data and information pertaining
to the research topic (Opie, 2019). It focuses on answering the research questions which is
because it is important to have an understanding about the research problem before investigating
why the problem exists in the first place. This has helped the researcher and the users of the
research report in gaining a deeper understanding about the research topic within the UK food
industry.
4.3 Research Procedures
There are mainly two types of research, one is quantitative and other is qualitative. The
quantitative research type accounts for the numbers and statistics and allows the researcher to
test the hypothesis through the way of systematically gathering and interpreting the data. It
quantifies the opinion, behaviour and other related variables based on which derive the outcome
for the larger sample population. The quantitative research makes use of the measurable data in
order to formulate the facts and uncover the patterns and it is considered to be more structure and
organized as against the qualitative. The qualitative is in association with the words and texts. It
works on exploring the ideas and the experiences (Carminati, 2018). In regard to the research
procedure, the researcher has used qualitative procedure for the purpose determining the impact
of the technology on the accounting practices. This form of research procedure allowed the
researcher in effectively and appropriately understanding the research topic from the perspective
of the people who are involved into this. This procedure is utilized for understanding the belief's,

experience, behaviour and the attitude of the people in regard to the usage of technology in the
accounting practices (Thomas, 2017). The outcome from this is in the non-numeric form. Along
with that, this research procedure is very easy which involves the analysis of the values and
beliefs pertaining to the research topic and no facts and figures. Thus, this has allowed the
researcher in effectively understanding the core concept behind the topic and helped in
effectively attaining the research objectives and completing the research in an effective manner.
4.4 Research Approach
The research approach mainly refers to the research style which will be used by the
researcher for doing the research. One approach is the deductive approach which is mainly
focussed on the development of the hypothesis which is based on the existing theory and then
based on this research strategy is being designed for the purpose of testing of the hypothesis. It
generally accounts for reasoning from the specific to the general. This approach is explained
through the way of hypotheses which is done through the proposition of the theory. In other
words, the deductive approach is concerned with the deducting the conclusion from the set
proposition. In contrast to it, in the inductive approach, which is also called as the inductive
reasoning initiates with the observation and the theories which can be provided at the ending of
the research process in the form of the result. This basically involves the research on the patterns
of the observation along with the creation of the theories pertaining to those trends or the
patterns. Under this, no theory or the hypotheses is applied at the starting of the research and the
researcher is having full freedom in changing the direction of the research even after the
commencement of the research. Therefore, in this study, the researcher has made use of the
inductive research approach which will help in generating data from information from the data
set.
4.5 Research Philosophy
The research philosophy is considered as the very vast topic which deals with the sources
and the development of the knowledge and is taken as a belief. Under the positivism philosophy,
it considers only the factual knowledge which is being gained by the way of observation
involving the measurement is considered to be trustworthy. In this, the role of researcher is only
limited to the collection of data and the interpretation in respect to the objective. In this type, the
research findings are mostly observable and quantifiable which consequently refers to the
statistical analysis. The researcher is independent of the study and provisions for no human

interest pertaining to the research. As against it, in the interpretivism, it integrates the human
interest within the research (Alharahsheh and Pius, 2020). It is based on the assumption of the
researcher that the access to the reality can only be done through the social construction, for
instance, shared meaning, language etc. It is developed based on the critique of the positivism.
This philosophy is basically used for grouping together the diverse approaches along with the
approaches that rejects the objectivist view. Thus, the researcher has implemented interpretivism
research philosophy for the purpose of effectively and efficiently meet with the defined business
objectives. This has supported in gathering more relevant and important information in regard to
the topic of impact of technology on the accounting practices.
4.6 Kind of Data
In order to complete the research in a better and effective way, the researcher has used
and focused on the secondary sources of data. The primary source of data is not selected which is
because it is not efficient in meeting with the desired objective. Therefore, secondary sources of
data is being utilized by the researcher in which the already published data and the journals is
being used in relation to the given topic. The researcher has putted for focus on the secondary
sources which is mainly because of the reason that they are more reliable and valid resulting into
accomplishing the research topic in an effective manner. This allowed the researcher in
completing the study along with the accomplishment of the set aim objectives.
4.7 Data Collection
The collection procedure accounts for the gathering of data mainly from the primary and
the secondary sources. The primary source refers to the gathering of data on a particular topic for
a first time. The secondary source refers to making use of already established journals, books and
the other published data (Johnston, 2017). In this project, secondary sources will be utilized for
which the relevant articles pertaining to the project topic will be collected and analysed. This
results into gathering of valid and reliable data which will help in effectively accomplishing the
desired business objectives.
4.8 Data analysis
Data analysis refers to making use of analytical technique for the purpose of analysing
the data collected. There mainly two types of analysis technique, one is SPSS which involves the
using statistical tools for the generating useful information. This is useful for carrying out the
quantitative analysis. While in contrast to it, the other is thematic analysis, in this, separate

themes are created pertaining to the topic which helps in covering various aspects. It is the most
common approach for the purpose of analysing the qualitative data (Castleberry and Nolen,
2018). This is generally implemented to a set of texts like the interview transcripts. Thus, the
researcher has used thematic analysis, which accounts for closely examining the data through
which themes will be created. This results into gaining knowledge and understanding about the
topic in-depth which assists in meeting with the aims and objectives of the research topic.
4.9 Ethical Statement
The researcher has carried out the research effectively and appropriately through the way
of complying with the ethical standards. The researcher has gathered all the relevant data form
the valid and the reliable sources. The work of other researcher has been used but for which
proper citation of the same is being done and recognition of the same is provided. The
information collected has been held confidential along with complying with the data protection
laws (Ross, Iguchi and Panicker, 2018). Full honesty and integrity has been maintained while
carrying out this research. The researcher has not made use of any discriminatory and offensive
languages or the methods for collection the information and while preparing the report as well.
The researcher of the study has ensured that no harm is being done to the individual or to the
society in the any way.
4.10 Reliability and validity
The reliability and validity is considered to be an important concept which the researcher
is required to complied with. For the purpose of accomplishing the accurate research outcome, it
is crucial for the researcher to ensure that the data has been collected from the copyright sources
which offers authentic and valid information. Therefore, the researcher has made use of the valid
and reliable sources for data collection.
4.11 Statement of limitation
The primary limitation pertaining to the research is the restricted time provided which has
resulted into making use of the secondary sources for data collection. Along with that, the
researcher has not used the very old data which is because of the reason that the data available
might be irrelevant with the research topic and also the very latest and new data which is mainly
because the users of the research report might not be properly informed or acquainted with the
data. Along with this, another limitation is the availability of time in respect to the completion of
the research. The insufficiency in time has created barrier or difficulty in respect to doing

research extensively. But then too, the researcher has been able to complete the research in the
given time frame through hard work.
4.12 Chapter Summary
It can be inferred from the above that the researcher has carried out the entire research
through the way using the qualitative research type and has made use of the thematic analysis for
the purpose of meeting up with the set objectives. The methodology adopted by the researcher
has been very useful in terms of the collection of the information. The researcher has followed
and complied with all the relevant ethical standards while conducting the research. Also, the
information collected is from reliable and valid sources.

CHAPTER FIVE: DATA COLLECTION, ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION
5.1 Introduction
In this research, in order to collect the relevant data, thematic analysis is being used by
the research. The core aim behind using this approach is to identifying the themes pertaining to
the topic which will help in meeting up with the changing business requirements. This section
has helped in achieving the set business objectives in respect to the usage of technology in the
accounting practices of the UK food industry. It further involves the discussion of the outcomes
based upon which the data analysis. The data gathered for each theme is being analysed and
further discussed which will help in effectively meeting up with the changing business
requirements.
5.2 Concept of technology in accounting practices in the UK food industry
Based upon the data collected, it has been analysed that the technology pertaining to the
field of accounting in the UK food industry has been very beneficial in terms of carrying the
small tasks without any error and focusing on the other major and important parts. The largest
UK food companies in UK involves the Associated British Foods, Boparan Holdings and Arla
Foods. These companies are ranks in the top 10 largest food and Drinks companies. (Tripoli and
Schmidhuber, 2018) If the organizations effectively implement the related technology then it will
help in smoothly carrying out the accounting activities along with saving lot of time and efforts
so that the accounting personnels and others in this field can focus on the other aspects like the
financial analysis, managing the financial resources, estimating the revenue and cost which will
help in effectively meeting up with the changing business requirements. In order to drive grow
and survive in the changing market conditions the organizations are required to effectively adopt
the changes taking place otherwise, it will be left behind and may not be able to remain in the
market for long. There are various benefits associated with the implementation of accounting
technology like recording of transactions and the preparation of the reports on just a click.
From the point of view of the employees and the management, the usage of technology
will help in reducing the errors and the mistakes that occurs when doing the same using the
manual or the traditional approach. On effective analysis of the literature review, it can be further
added that the introduction of technology will also bring certain cons which the companies
within the UK food industry are required to take into account. The first and the most important is
that it requires huge amount of investment which might not be possible for small size companies

to meet. But in case of larger organization, it can be implemented without any problem.
Technology is the driving force which has occurred as an opportunity for the companies in order
to build a positive environment. This will also help in building up a strong brand image of the
companies on account of attracting the people to be a part of the organization which adapts to the
change in the external environment (Brands and Elam, 2019). In respect to the field of
accounting practices, this topic is less researched which makes it important for the organization
to effectively understand the critical aspects pertaining to the system which will help in timely
meeting up with the accounting requirements of the business and also smoothly undertaking the
accounting activities. All these discussed above accounts for the key aspects which will make the
companies in the UK food industry to adopt to the latest technology which will assist and support
in reducing any error in accounting when it is done manually.
5.3 Methods of implementing technology in the accounting practices
On critically analysing the literature review, it can be analysed and interpreted that there
are various modes through which the organizations can introduce technology but it is dependent
upon the needs and requirements of the organization. Thee has been a major shift in the way
accounting was used to be done. There is has been a buzz about making use of cloud computing
which refers to storing of the organizational informational and data on an online platform called
cloud which can be accessed at any time with the help of internet and there is no need to carry
hard drive for the purpose of storing the information which might get corrupted and is also
exposed to theft or lost. There are different software's which can be utilized by the companies in
the UK food industry in carrying out their accounting tasks in a better and smooth way like the
QuickBooks, FreshBooks and so forth (Yau-Yeung, Yigitbasioglu and Green, 2020). It has also
been analysed that the usage of cloud computing technology is also having certain drawbacks
which are crucial for the management to look over it in order to implement or formulate a
backup plan in case of any problem or issue. Since, everything is stored in the cloud increases
the risk of security therefore, it becomes crucial for the management to carefully analyse the
security practices which is being followed and implemented by the cloud service provider.
Another important thing is that, it can only be used when there is internet connective, thus, it
would be difficult to do the task if the person is not having proper internet connection.
Another approach for the implementing the technology is the block chain technology
which has lead to the wider change in the way accounting used to be done. It provides greater

protection to the data and the person having the private keys can only access the data. This form
of technology is highly preferable as it double entry bookkeeping is the current practice of
accounting which is being followed by the accountant and along with it, the independent auditor
is required to verify the transaction but all these things are no longer required to be done as under
the blockchain technology the data is already verified and being automated, full audit of each
transaction is being done in a better way without making any error. The world is also shifting
towards the no coding scenario which has bring up more flexibility and convenience to the
people in regard to the way accounting is done. In simple terms, it accounts for the virtually zero
data entry in field of accounting in the US food industry (Peden, 2019). This has resulted into
replacement of the humans but also with this, it has opened an opportunity for the employees to
upgrade their skills which will help them in matching up with the changing job role and for this,
the organizations are required to provide relevant training to the employees which will result into
effectively meeting up with the changing business scenario and the ways of doing the business.
For undertaking the implementation of technology it is important for the organization to
understand the key factors it requires researching and in case, it fails to identify the influencing
factors then it will result into inability to successfully implementing the technology. Apart from
the methods discussed above, there can be other approaches as well which can be small level
which is decided or dependent on the size of the organization.
Taking into account all these crucial parts, the companies in UK Food industry can
introduced technology in doing the accounting work in a better way, as nowadays, the
technologies are supported with the software's which helps the companies in successfully
complying accounting practices and standards. This results into making the work of the
accountants very easy which leads to the generation of the better outcomes, time saving and
requirements of application of less efforts.
5.4 Challenges in implementation of the technology
Introducing a new technology within the UK Food industry is prone to various challenges
and issues which cannot be ignored, thus, it makes it important for all the companies within this
industry to carefully analyse the key challenges that it might be exposed based on which it
should take cation so that the negative influence or effect of it can be minimized. In relation to
the bringing technology in the filed of accounting is the changing trend, which has helped the

organization in understanding the relevance of it in the business practices and along with this,
the advantage it will bring to the business and the accounting professionals.
On analysing the key challenges that might come across in the process of implementing
the technology in the UK food industry in the stream of accounting, it can be stated that despite
of the fact that there are various challenges that the companies are required to tackle with but
these barriers will always come when an organization works on implementing any of the new
technology which can have an influence over the lives of the others for whom this change is,
apart from the field of accounting (Jamal Mohammad and et.al., 2020). The major challenge is
the resistance to change which might come across as the employees for very long are manually
working and verifying the accounting transactions which creates makes it difficult for them to
switch to the automation and AI technology in the carrying out the accounting practices. This
challenge is the most crucial in regard to successfully implementing the accounting practices.
Apart from this, technology implementation might result into making the organization incur
additional expenditure in respect to the providing training to the employees in order to make
them familiar with the new technology and how to use the same.
But in contrast to it, there are certain other aspects which the companies should take into
consideration like the feasibility and usefulness of it in effectively meeting up with the changing
business conditions. The implementation of technology will replace the traditional rule based
accounting practices but on the other hand, it will result into rise in the demand of the skills of
the financial analysis. Along with this, the challenge of effectively meeting up with the cyber
security issue is also an important factor which the companies in the UK Food industry are
required to take into account. As data collected from the secondary sources, it can be stated that
for hackers the accounting information is the most vital information as it is of higher value which
they can use to blackmail the companies in lieu of money (Ahmed and et.al., 2019). Therefore,
such problems makes it challenging for the companies in order to implement technology within
the organization. It is further analysed that even if the organizations have effectively
implemented the technology then too it will have to remain up to date with changes taking place
because outdated software will not provide better and informed services to the companies. In
order to do so, it is crucial for the organization, to maintain the technology along with this, it is
important to ensure that the skills of the employees are also upgraded with respect to the
requirement, otherwise, the implementation of technology is of no use if no one is able to make

use of it which will help in quickly meeting with the required business objectives. Apart from
this, in order to introduce technology within the organization, it would be difficult for the
companies to meet with cost it will require to incur and also it would be requiring up-gradation
and maintenance from time to time which is a costly affair. Therefore, based on the analysis, it
can be said that the business organizations are required to understand the changing business
practices and the negative effects associated with it so that it can undertake right decision which
will be beneficial for it and effectively meet with the stated goals and objectives.
Despite of the challenges, the advantages it will bring to the business will allow the
accounting professionals to focus on the more important things pertaining to the accounting
analysis, forecasting, financial analysis and determining the key accounts for meeting with the
accounting purpose.
5.5 Chapter Summary
It can be summarized from the above analysis that the usage of the technology in the
accounting practices will result into effectively bringing into place the system which will help in
achieving the research objectives. The implementation of technology system in accounting
requires the organization in effectively understanding and researching about the key aspects such
as the benefits, usefulness and the risks so that it can understand the core factors which are
important for accomplishing the desired business objectives. There are few challenges with
respect to the various methods through which technology can be introduced but the organization
are required to analyse the benefits it is providing and comparing the risk in relation to it and
then decide what can be done. Thus, technology in accounting is the need of the time which
cannot be ignored but it will result into better management and handling of the accounting
practices.

CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION, LIMITATION, RECOMMENDATION
AND CONTRIBUTION
6.1 Conclusion
It can be concluded from the above analysis and interpretation of the topic of analysing
the impact of technology on the accounting practices that it is very important and crucial for the
business organization especially the organization in the UK food industry. This is because there
are large number of companies within this industry ranging from high to low and each having
some of the requirements pertaining to meeting up with the business requirements. This concept
has been widely accepted on a global basis which is mainly because of the benefits it will bring
to the business and the impact and the change it will bring within the organization. Apart from
this, there are different ways or the methods through which the companies can implement the
technology like using the cloud computing system, blockchain technology, automation, artificial
intelligence etc. The advantages associated with the making use of the technology outweigh the
risk or the drawbacks of it as each and every technology has its pros and cons which cannot be
ignored but this accounts as an important aspect which results into meeting with the business
requirements.
Along with this, there are various challenges pertaining to the introduction of technology
within the UK Food industry. These challenges are mostly common in regard to the different
technologies which involves the risk, costs and benefits. The major issue being identified and
considered to be common is the security concern on account of the usage of the technology and
risk to which the organizations are exposed to. The loss of accounting data is the most vulnerable
things that can happen to an organization as it is very valuable and leaking of it might expose the
company at the risk of losing the net worth. Based on the analysis and discussion, the most
common issue or the challenge that the organizations might be exposed to is resistance to change
and the lack of skills among the existing employees.
6.2 Limitation
The major limitation pertaining to this research study is the lack of time and the
availability of the research data. Also, the researcher has made use of the recent data of the past
five years which is because the older data might not be able to provide the exact data in regard to
the topic. In addition to this, the very latest information has not been taken by the researcher as

the users might not be updated with the changes that might have been taking place. Also, only
the secondary sources of data has been used by the scholar in completing the research.
6.3 Recommendation
Based upon the data analysis and discussion, there are certain recommendation which can
be implemented by the companies in order to appropriately, implement technology in place.
 The first most important thing that the companies within the UK Food industry are
required to take control of is the resistance to change among the employees. This is the
major problem that might arise and through the way of effectively communicating the
change to the employees before implementing it will provide time to the employees in
completing the same. Also, by making the employees realize about the benefits the new
technology will add to the business along with how it will ease the accounting process for
the accountants will result into generating better outcomes.
 Another point of recommendation is carrying out the proper and effective research
pertaining to the technology the company is willing to invest into. This is very important
from the organizational and the investment point of view, as each technological system
will be having different options which the business are required to identify in terms of the
usefulness of each of the options available. This is important as it will result into
undertaking the right decision on an emergency basis as reports can be prepared at a
click. But, in order to meet with the requirements it is imperative and essential for the
companies to list down the features it requires in respect to effectively meeting up with
the objectives for which it is implemented.
6.4 Contribution
This research has helped in sharpening my research skills along with gaining in-depth
knowledge and understanding in regard to the research topic. This has provided direction in
which the research can be effectively complete with the aim of achieving the set objectives. This
has helped in gaining data analysis and interpretation skills and drawing conclusion based on the
discussion. This contribution will be further helpful in carrying out the other research as well in a
better and effective way.

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