Accounting and Auditing in the Metaverse World from a Virtual Reality Perspective: A Future Research

Abstract

The research aims to illuminate and raise questions about the future of accounting and auditing from the perspective of the most prominent technology, virtual reality technology, the Metaverse. A normative approach is considered an appropriate approach for future research. The research's contribution is that it is the first scientific study to identify a link between accounting, auditing, and the Metaverse, which no other research has done. As prominent results' of the research, the Metaverse represents a vertical rather than a horizontal development in accounting and auditing, where their objectives remain unchanged. Metaverse technologies will serve as auxiliary tools for them. Furthermore, Metaverse creates new digital assets that require accounting measurements to provide tools and disclosure methods that are accurate. In addition, the Metaverse has potential effects on planning the audit process and collecting evidence. Moreover, because it provides an interactive environment with enormous potential, the Metaverse can be used in education and accounting training.

Keywords

• Accounting
• Auditing
• Augmented Reality
• Metaverse
• Virtual Reality

References

1. Zuckerberg, M. (2021). Founder's Letter. [03.11.2021] Available from: https://www.facebook.com/zuck/posts/10114026953010521
2. Folger. J. (2022). Metaverse Definition. [17.02.2022] Available from: https://www.investopedia.com/metaverse-definition-5206578
3. Roh. J. (2021). Factbox: What is the 'metaverse' and how does it work?. [25.12.2021] Available from: https://www.reuters.com/technology/what-is-metaverse-how-does-it-work-2021-09-08/
4. Sunder, S. (2011). Imagined worlds of accounting. Accounting, Economics, and Law. 1(1), 1-12.
5. Damar, M. (2021). Metaverse Shape of Your Life for Future: A bibliometric snapshot, Journal of Metaverse, 1(1), 1-8.
6. Narin, N. G. (2021). A Content Analysis of the Metaverse Articles, Journal of Metaverse, 1(1), 17-24.
7. Shotton, D., Portwin, K., Klyne, G. & Alistair, M. (2009). Adventures in Semantic Publishing: Exemplar Semantic Enhancements of a Research Article, PLoS Computional Biology, 5(4), e1000361. Doi: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000361
8. Matar, M. & Al-Suwaiti, M. (2012). Theoretical rooting of professional accounting practices in the field of measurement, presentation, and disclosure. Third Edition, Dar Wael for Publishing and Distribution, Amman, Jordan.

9. Pietro, R. D. & Cresci, S. (2021). Metaverse: Security and Privacy Issues. The Third IEEE International Conference on Trust, Privacy and Security in Intelligent Systems, and Applications (IEEE TPS'21). Doi: 10.1109/TPSISA52974.2021.00032
10. Rathore, D. (2022). The metaverse: phase of virtual realities. [20.02.2022] Available from: https://www.dunebook.com/the-metaverse-phase-of-virtual-realities/
11. Ramadan, M. A. M. (2018). Interior design and technology of visible virtual reality, Journal of Applied Art and Science, 5(3), 1-14.
12. Financial Reporting Council. (2021). Virtual and Augmented Reality in corporate reporting. [05.11.2021] Available from: https://library.croneri.co.uk/miscvarc0221
13. Ray, J. (2020). VR-not a reality but neither a hallucination nor dreaming imaginings. CSI Communications: Knowledge Digest for IT Community. 44(4), 10-13.
14. Greiner, P., Bogatsch, T., Jahn, N., Martins, L., Linß, G. & Notni, G. (2019). Remote-Audit and VR Support in Precision and Mechanical Engineering. Proc. SPIE 11144, Photonics and Education in Measurement Science. Doi: 10.1117/12.2533016.
15. Anastacio, S.B. (2019). Use of virtual reality in auditing. Annual national convention, Association of government internal auditors (AGIA).
16. K, S. & Sen, S. (2020). Virtual Reality: The New Reality. CSI Communications: Knowledge Digest for IT Community, 44(4), 14-16.
17. Mittal, H. (2020). Virtual Reality: An Overview. CSI Communications: Knowledge Digest for IT Community, 44(4), 9.
18. Vogel, S. (2021). How virtual reality can help accountants with CPD. Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. [10.11.2021] Available from: https://www.icaew.com/insights/viewpoints-on-the-news/2020/aug-2020/how-virtual-reality-can-help-accountants-with-cpd
19. Johnson, R. A. & Middleton, J. M. (2008). Accounting for Second Life. Journal of Accountancy, Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. [06.11.2021] Available from:https://www.journalofaccountancy.com/issues/2008/jun/accountingforsecondlife.html
20. Brown, A. (2021). What Is The Metaverse—And Why Does Mark Zuckerberg Care So Much About It?. [21.12.2021] Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2021/11/03/zuckerberg-facebook-metaverse-meta-virtual-reality-oculus/?sh=fef92ce6b69f
21. Joshua, J. (2017). Information Bodies: Computational Anxiety in Neal Stephenson's Snow Crash, Interdisciplinary Literary Studies, 19(1), 17-47. Doi: 10.5325/intelitestud.19.1.0017
22. Ağralı, Ö. & Aydın, Ö. (2021). Tweet Classification and Sentiment Analysis on Metaverse Related Messages, Journal of Metaverse, 1(1), 25-30.
23. Cook, A. V., Bechtel, M., Andersonm, S., Novak, D. R., Nodi, N. & Parekh, J. (2020). The Spatial Web and Web 3.0: What business leaders should know about the next era of computing, Deloitte Insights.
24. Murray, D. (2021). An Inquiry into Designing Metaverses. Master Thesis, School of Simulation and Visualisation, The Glasgow School of Art. Doi: 10.13140/RG.2.2.23227.54560
25. Gibbs, A. (2021). 101: What on earth is the metaverse?. [10.11.2021] Available from: https://www.pwc.com.au/digitalpulse/101-metaverse.html
26. Jeon, H., Youn, H., Ko, S. & Kim, T. (2021). Blockchain and AI Meet in the Metaverse, Intechopen. Doi: 10.5772/intechopen.99114
27. Isam El-Din, A. M. (2014). Currency Bitcoin, The Banker Magazine, (73), 50-53.
28. Al-Gnbri, M. K. A. (2020). Blockchain technology and its implications for the internal audit profession, Internal Audit Journal. (11), 25-29.
29. Vyas. K. (2021). What is the Metaverse and How Do Enterprises Stand to Benefit?. [30.11.2021] Available from: https://www.itbusinessedge.com/networking/metaverse-enterprises-benefits/
30. Microsoft. (2021). Microsoft Mesh. [01.12.2021] Available from: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/mesh
31. Dalton, J. & Gillham, J. (2019). How virtual reality and augmented reality are transforming business and the economy, Seeing is believing, PricewaterhouseCoopers. [07.11.2021] Available from: https://www.pwc.com/seeingisbelieving
32. Squires, C. (2021). Seoul will be the first city government to join the Metaverse. [25.12.2021] Available from: https://qz.com/2086353/seoul-is-developing-a-metaverse-government-platform/
33. Kim, S. (2021). South Korea’s Approach to the Metaverse. [25.12.2021] Available from: https://thediplomat.com/2021/11/south-koreas-approach-to-the-metaverse/
34. Animoca Brands. (2021). The Sandbox welcomes PwC Hong Kong to the Metaverse. [25.12.2021] Available from: https://www.animocabrands.com/the-sandbox-welcomes-pwc-hong-kong-to-the-metaverse 25.12.2021.
35. ICAEW. (2021). Doing business in the digital Metaverse. [18.11.2021] Available from: https://www.icaew.com/insights/viewpoints-on-the-news/2021/sep-2021/doing-business-in-the-digital-metaverse
36. Buckless, F. (2012). Accounting Education in the Second Life World: Opportunities for Students, Faculty, and Businesses. Development and Learning in Organizations, 82(3), 9-14. Doi: 10.1108/dlo.2012.08126daa.004
37. Bansode, R. (2016). Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality: Understanding the new digital interface and potential for financial services, Synechron.
38. Digital Catapult. (2018). Growing VR/AR companies in the UK, A business and legal handbook, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
39. Duan, H., Li, J., Fan, S., Lin, Z., Wu, X. & Wei, C. (2021). Metaverse for Social Good: A University Campus Prototype. 29th ACM International Conference on Multimedia (MM'21). Doi: 10.1145/3474085.3479238
40. Khalifa, E. (2019). The Post-Information Society: The Impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on National Security, First Edition, Emirates, Future Center for Research and Advanced Studies.
41. Chamber of Digital Commerce. (2017). Agenda Request – Determining the Appropriate Recognition, Measurement, Presentation, and Disclosure for Digital Currencies and Related Transactions.
42. Prestigiacomo, L. (2017) What is the "GAAP" in regard to digital currency?. Mazars USA Ledger.
43. Kim, S., Crowley, M., Park, A. & Karnick, M. (2022). The Metaverse: Accounting Considerations Related to Nonfungible Tokens. Accounting Spotlight, Deloitte.
44. Faccia, A. & Mosteanu, N. R. (2019). Accounting and blockchain technology: from double-entry to triple-entry, The Business and Management Review, 10 (2), 108-116.
45. Rahmawati, M. I., Sukoharsono, E., Ganis, R., Aulia, F. & Prihatiningtias, Y. W. (2021). From Blockchain to Accounting Profession: Evidence from Indonesia, Journal of Hunan University（Natural Sciences), 48(2), 10-16.
46. Zheng, R. (2021). Applications Research of Blockchain Technology in Accounting System. International Symposium on Big Data and Applied Statistics, Journal of Physics: Conference Series. Doi: 10.1088/1742-6596/1955/1/012068
47. Imene, F. & Imhanzenobe, J. (2020). Information technology and the accountant today: What has really changed?. Journal of Accounting and Taxation. 12(1), 48-60.
48. Maad, S., Garbaya, S., McCarthy, J. B., Beynon, M., Bouakaz, S. & Nagarajan, R. (2010). Virtual and Augmented Reality in Finance: State Visibility of Events and Risk. InTech, 205-220.
49. Buckless, F. A., Krawczyk, K. & Showalter, S. (2014). Using Virtual Worlds to Simulate Real-World Audit Procedures, Issues in Accounting Education, 29(3), 389–417. Doi: 10.2308/iace-50785
50. Jeyaprakash, T. & Ranjana, P. (2020). Interactive Virtual Reality (VR) Applications for Education and Training, CSI Communications: Knowledge Digest for IT Community, 44(4), 17-18.
51. Sari, R. C., Warsono, S., Ratmono, D., Zuhrohtun, Z. & Hermawan, H. D.(2021). The effectiveness of teaching virtual reality-based business ethics: is it really suitable for all learning styles?. Interactive Technology and Smart Education, ahead-of-print(ahead-of-print). Doi: 10.1108/ITSE-05-2021-0084
52. Hornik, S. & Thornburg, S. (2010). Engaging Accounting: Second Life™ as a Learning Platform. Issues in Accounting Education, 25(3), 361-378. Doi: 10.2308/iace.2010.25.3.361
53. Khanna, S. (2016). Research Spotlight: Virtual reality makes auditing come to life. American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. [03.11.2021] Available from: https://us.aicpa.org/interestareas/accountingeducation/newsandpublications/virtual-reality-in-accounting-education
54. Appelbaum, D. & Nehmer, R.A. (2020). Auditing Cloud-Based Blockchain Accounting Systems, Journal of information systems, 34(2), 5-21.