Factors Influencing Artificial Intelligence Adoption in the Accounting Profession

This research aims to identify how organizational, individual, and educational factors influence AI adoption and examine the unique role of legal frameworks in shaping these influences. This research explores the new integration of legal systems as a mediating factor in AI adoption within the accounting profession in finance departments at Iraqi universities, a perspective rarely explored in previous studies. To achieve this, we adopted a mixed-methods research design that combines quantitative analysis and a questionnaire distributed to a purposive sample of 296 accounting and IT professionals at Iraqi public universities working in finance departments and units and computer centers. The results revealed that communication structure and accounting education are significant drivers of AI adoption, while organizational culture, competitive pressures, and resource availability showed no direct influence. Notably, the presence of supportive legal systems transformed previously insignificant factors into drivers of AI adoption. This study provides original insights by highlighting the crucial mediating effect of legal systems and recommends strengthening legal infrastructure and building strong educational foundations to facilitate the integration of AI into government accounting practices in Iraq.