Since 2009, blockchain has served as a potentially transformative information technology expected to be as revolutionary as the Internet. Originally developed as a methodology to record cryptocurrency transactions, blockchain's functionality has evolved into a large number of applications, such as banking, financial markets, insurance, voting systems, leasing contracts, and government service. Despite such advancements, the application of blockchain to accounting and assurance remains under-explored. This paper aims to provide an initial discussion on how blockchain could enable a real-time, verifiable, and transparent accounting ecosystem. Additionally, blockchain has the potential to transform current auditing practices, resulting in a more precise and timely automatic assurance system.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.