PERCEPTIONS OF ACCOUNTING PROFESSIONALS REGARDING DIGITALIZATION AND REMOTE WORK DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Covid-19 has spread all over the world and humanity faced with uncertain situations. These ambiguous conditions have also affected the public accountants in terms of their working schedules and social lives, as they have affected every sector. The public accountants have continued their key role between government and corporations with great effort during the Covid-19 period. Covid-19 has forced the accountants to quickly adapt to this change in work arrangement with the support of the rapid development of technology. This study aims to examine the responses of professional accountants in the frame of remote working due to Covid-19 and their adaptation to the digital transformation. In this research, the data was collected by semi-structured interviews, which are one of the qualitative methods. The interviews were conducted with 12 certified public accountants, and their responses were recorded. The results of the interviews were classified under six main themes within the framework of the answers of the participants. Accountants stated that digital transformation gained speed and remote work mounted during the pandemic period. Professionals who experienced working remotely, albeit forcibly during this period, stated that accounting can also be done from home, and that the regulation that requires obtaining an office should be updated. They also stated that during the period, there were various changes in the working schemes compared to the previous period and that they could not get enough support from the government agencies with decision authority.