What Accountants Need to Know about Blockchain

Michael Alles and Glen L. Gray

Chapter 7 in Information for Efficient Decision Making:Big Data, Blockchain and Relevance, 2020, pp 173-196 from World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.

Abstract: Building on the work we have done in Alles and Gray (2019a, 2019b), in this chapter we try to provide a more balanced perspective on blockchain, explaining to an accounting audience why this technology has both much to contribute and what its caveats are. We will cover the basics of the technology underlying blockchain, explain its relation to bitcoin, and do so with a particular reference to what we feel accountants need to know about these technologies. For most accountants, technology such as blockchain is a means toward an end and not an end in themselves. What the technology is used for is far more important than what the technology is and, hence, what accountants need to understand is the business context of blockchain.

Keywords: Accounting; Decision Making; Economic Information; Stock Trading; Acquisitions; Mergers; Financing Reporting; Reliable Information; Company Decisions (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A1 M41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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