Blockchain in Accounting Research and Practice: Current Trends and Future Opportunities

This article provides a review of the accounting blockchain literature, with a focus on current trends and recommendations for future research opportunities. Our review identifies seven main areas: (i) future of blockchain technology, (ii) impact on the accounting function, (iii) auditing considerations, (iv) financial reporting for cryptoassets, (v) case studies, (vi) governance, and (vii) taxation. The article aims to bridge the gap between practitioners and academics by providing a review of both areas of literature and highlighting common ground between the two arenas. While academics have begun to explore how the accounting profession might change in response to blockchain, this research is limited primarily to the auditing field. Practitioners, for their part, have expanded their scope to also devote significant attention to the financial reporting and taxation of cryptoassets. Expanding the discussion of accounting and blockchains beyond their current concentrations in auditing and accounting information systems, we call for more research on the impact of blockchain technology in other areas such as corporate governance or the intersection of accounting and society.