Breen, John P and Burgess, Stephen (2011) E-Services and Australian Accounting Practices. In: Developing Technologies in E-Services, Self-Services and Mobile Communication: New Concepts. Scupola, Ada, ed. Information science reference, Hershey, Pa., pp. 51-65.

Abstract

This research investigated the website use of Australian accounting practices in metropolitan Melbourne, Australia in the period 2006-2010. This occurred through an investigation of the websites of 100 practices and interviews involving selected practices at the start of the period and a further investigation of the websites at the end of the period. The analysis revealed a heavy emphasis towards website features that identify the businesses and the services that they offer, which is consistent with other website studies involving professional services. More than other businesses, accounting practices rely on keeping their clients up to date and thus the provision of information such as taxation news updates, changes to superannuation and regular newsletters to clients through their websites was identified as being an important tool for many practices. None of the accounting practices offered online order or payment features over the period. Again this is consistent with other studies of similar professional services businesses. Although some of the practices had log-in features in 2006, only two contained features that could perhaps be classed as ‘e-services’. However, the 2010 review found an increase in the number of accounting practices with a log-in feature on their website. This suggests that the issues of trust in the technology are being addressed and that they could be moving towards a situation where e-services may become more commonplace in the future.

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