Digitalization, Accounting Jobs, and Financial Reporting Quality

This study examines the effect of firm digitalization on the demand for corporate accountants and their digital skills. Using 170,000 job posts for corporate accountants made by U.S. nontechnology firms during the 2011–2019 period, we find that firms that adopt digital technologies demand more digital skills from financial specialists who are responsible for financial reporting, budgeting, and forecasting, but not for financial clerks who mainly focus on administrative financial tasks. Meanwhile, we find the overall demand for financial specialists does not change, but that for financial clerks reduces. Furthermore, we find that firm digitalization and financial specialists’ digital skills jointly improve financial accounting quality. Our results suggest that firm digitalization does not substitute for financial specialists and that investment in employees’ digital skills is necessary for a firm to benefit from its digitalization strategy.