QUALITIES OF A DESIRABLE ACCOUNTANT IN THE DIGITAL AGE THAT AFFECT QUALITY OF FINANCIAL STATEMENT PREPARATION OF SMEs IN THE SOUTHERN ANDAMAN REGION

Abstract

The objectives of this research article were to: 1) study opinion levels regarding desirable qualifications of accountants in the digital era as affecting quality of financial statement preparation based on SMEs (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) in the southern Andaman region; 2) study opinion level of quality appertaining to the formation of financial statements based on SMEs in the southern Andaman region and 3) To study the various desirable qualifications of professionals from the accounting industry, particularly accountants, in the digital era that influence the quality of the formation appropriate to financial statements based on SMEs in the southern Andaman region. The samples were selected using Taro Yamane data used and presented in this study. It was compiled using a questionnaire from 400 SMEs business executives from the southern Andaman region. Descriptive statistics was utilized for this study, using measurements such as mean and standard deviation. Furthermore, Inferential statistics was also applied, including multiple regression analysis. The results show that 1) The qualification with the highest average was professional ethics as assessed by the opinion levels in regards to the desirable qualifications of accountants in the digital era as a whole. 2) The qualification with the highest average was profound understanding as assessed by opinion level of quality appertaining to the formation of financial statements and 3) The hypothesis testing outcome with statistical significance at the 0.01 level, concluded that the desirable qualities of professionals from the accounting industry, particularly accountants in the digital era, that influenced the quality of the formation appropriate to the financial statements based on SMEs in the southern Andaman region are as follows; a) Knowledge and competence dealing with the accounting profession b) Knowledge and competence in technology c) Individual characteristics such as professional ethics, organizational management, interpersonal collaboration and communication, and lastly language.