Artificial Intelligence in the Accounting Profession: Perspectives of Chartered Accountants in India

Artificial intelligence, accounting profession, trust in technology, technological readiness, chartered accountants, AMOS, structural equation modeling

Purpose: This study examined how trust in technology and technological readiness shaped the attitude of Chartered Accountants toward the adoption of artificial intelligence in accounting practice in India. Methodology: A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was employed using structured questionnaire responses from 500 Chartered Accountants practicing in Moradabad and Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. Preliminary screening, reliability testing, exploratory factor analysis, and structural equation modeling were undertaken through SPSS and AMOS. Findings: The measurement model demonstrated satisfactory reliability and validity. Trust in Technology exerted a significant positive influence on Attitude toward AI Adoption (β = 0.41, C.R. = 6.78, p < 0.001), while Technological Readiness also showed a significant positive effect (β = 0.36, C.R. = 6.14, p < 0.001). The structural model explained 53% of the variance in attitude and achieved acceptable fit statistics (χ²/df = 2.24, CFI = 0.958, TLI = 0.949, RMSEA = 0.050, SRMR = 0.043). Implications: The findings indicate that successful AI diffusion in accounting depends not only on the technical availability of tools but also on the profession’s confidence in their reliability, ethics, and transparency, as well as on accountants’ readiness to work with digitally enabled systems. Originality: The study extends AI-in-accounting research by modeling trust and readiness as direct antecedents of accountants’ attitudes in an Indian professional context.