Barriers to Artificial Intelligence in Accounting Implementation in Oman

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a recent technological advancement that has had a profound effect on various industries globally, including accounting and finance. This has resulted in time and cost savings, as well as offering valuable insights. AI in accounting and finance is crucial for finance professionals and firms to remain competitive, attract employees, investors, and customers. The current research determines the barriers to Artificial Intelligence (AI) in accounting across Omani companies. To achieve its research goals, the current study employs a qualitative approach to identify obstacles to the implementation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in accounting within Omani companies. This paper collected data through semi-structured interviews from companies that have not adopted AI and those that have partially adopted AI in accounting to learn the issues during its execution. Data analysis includes within-company and cross-company analysis. The key findings revealed that the barriers to AI implementation are fear of malfunctions in the system. Furthermore, the results show that technological hurdles, high implementation costs, lack of management support, and employee concerns are important factors affecting the adoption of artificial intelligence in accounting. We also found that a few firms under concern have recently experienced a technological revolution and implemented artificial intelligence applications in different fields, including accounting. The authors’ findings could have substantial implications for understanding artificial intelligence in accounting implementation in the Omani corporate world.