The Transformative Impact of Blockchain on Accounting Systems Auditing: A Systematic Literature Review of Data Integrity, Decentralization, and Accountability
A clearer understanding of how blockchain may transform audit evidence, internal control, assurance quality, fraud risk, accountability, and auditor judgment is offered, offering a clearer understanding of how the field shows high scientific visibility but still requires stronger theoretical integration, evaluative standardization, and empirical validation in real-world auditing contexts.
Abstract
Digital transformation has increased interest in the use of blockchain in Accounting Systems Auditing because of its potential to strengthen data integrity, decentralized validation, traceability, and accountability. However, the available evidence remains fragmented across technical, theoretical, methodological, and bibliometric dimensions. This study systematically analyzes the literature on blockchain and its influence on Accounting Systems Auditing, focusing on effectiveness criteria, auditing indicators, journal quartiles, definitions, theoretical foundations, thematic patterns, and keyword co-occurrence. A systematic literature review was conducted following the Kitchenham approach and the PRISMA guideline, covering studies published between 2019 and August 2025. From 5031 initial records, 63 studies were retained after applying exclusion criteria and quality assessment. The findings show that blockchain effectiveness is mainly evaluated through data integrity and decentralization, while scientific production is concentrated in Q1 and Q2 journals. The literature remains strongly oriented toward technical and operational foundations, with limited integration of broader theoretical frameworks. Thematic analysis identifies tokenization and governance as motor themes, while blockchain, auditing, and accounting constitute the most influential semantic nodes. This review contributes by integrating conceptual, theoretical, methodological, metric, and bibliometric dimensions into a single framework, offering a clearer understanding of how blockchain may transform audit evidence, internal control, assurance quality, fraud risk, accountability, and auditor judgment. The field shows high scientific visibility but still requires stronger theoretical integration, evaluative standardization, and empirical validation in real-world auditing contexts.
It is concluded that blockchain redefines, rather than eliminates, the role of accountants and auditors, and that its consolidation will depend on regulatory progress, curricular updates, and further empirical evidence on its real-world implementation across diverse institutional contexts.
Sandra Partricia Tóala Bozada, Maryury Elizabeth Morejón Santistevan, Laura Beatriz Farfán Menéndez et al.· Reincisol.· 0 citations
Blockchain has increasingly been discussed as a strategic technology for strengthening e-government, particularly in the development of secure digital identity systems. However, existing studies tend to emphasize technical benefits such as transparency, security, efficiency, and decentralization, while paying less attention to the institutional conditions that shape blockchain adoption in the public sector. This study aims to map the development of blockchain research in e-government and to interpret its implications for secure digital identity governance through the lens of Historical Institutionalism. The data were retrieved from on 20 June 2025 using keywords related to blockchain, e-government, public sector services, and digital identity. A total of 1,709 documents published between 2000 and 2025 were analyzed. Data collection was conducted through a structured bibliometric search strategy, followed by data cleaning, duplicate removal, and keyword standardization. The data were analyzed using VOSviewer to examine publication trends, keyword co-occurrence networks, thematic clusters, and the relationship among dominant research topics. The findings show a significant increase in publications after 2017, indicating the growing academic and policy attention to blockchain-based digital governance. The dominant themes are related to public services, government, health services, adoption challenges, regulation, cost, and data security. These findings suggest that blockchain adoption in e-government is not merely a technical issue, but also an institutional process shaped by regulatory readiness, administrative legacies, interoperability constraints, and public sector capacity. The theoretical contribution of this study lies in integrating bibliometric analysis with Historical Institutionalism, particularly the concepts of path dependence, critical juncture, institutional layering, and policy feedback. This study contributes to a more critical understanding of blockchain-based digital identity governance and offers implications for policymakers seeking to design secure, adaptive, and institutionally feasible digital public services.
Dyah Kuntorini Dwi Angreni, Ana Zahara· Journal of Government and Po...· 0 citations
This study analyses the intersection between blockchain technology, accounting and sustainability, examining how blockchain is transforming accounting practices toward greater transparency, traceability and alignment with sustainability goals. It also identifies the main intellectual, geographical and thematic structures of this emerging field, with particular attention to triple-entry accounting, environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, supply chain traceability and regulatory challenges.
The study conducts a bibliometric analysis of 57 articles indexed in Web of Science and Scopus from 2016 to 2024. Using VOSviewer software, it identifies the most influential authors, countries, publishers and thematic clusters, providing a systematic overview of scientific production, knowledge structures and emerging research trends in blockchain, accounting and sustainability.
The results show a strong increase in scientific production, confirming the growing relevance of blockchain in accounting and sustainability research. The findings highlight its application in supply chain traceability, ESG reporting, accounting automation and triple-entry accounting. Five thematic clusters are identified, suggesting future research lines on technology adoption in education, sustainable supply chains, artificial intelligence, smart contract regulation and institutional governance.
This study offers an integrated bibliometric view of the evolution of blockchain and accounting research toward interdisciplinary and sustainability-oriented approaches. Its originality lies in identifying research gaps and emerging trends while proposing a framework to understand accounting digital transformation. It provides guidance for future research and professional practice, supporting more digital, transparent and sustainable accounting systems.
Elisabeth Zafra‐Gómez, Germán López‐Pérez, Laura Sanz Martín et al.· Revista de Contabilidad - Sp...· 1 citation
The auditing profession faces increasing challenges related to data complexity, transparency, and
efficiency, necessitating the adoption of innovative technologies. This study empirically
investigates the impact of blockchain technology on audit quality and efficiency within large
corporations, focusing on the specific roles of immutability, transparency, smart contracts, and
data security. Drawing on the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework,
Diffusion of Innovations Theory, and Transaction Cost Economics, the research posits that these
blockchain characteristics significantly enhance audit outcomes. A survey research design was
employed, collecting data from 294 auditors and financial professionals in large corporations and
audit firms globally that are utilizing or exploring blockchain technology. Data were analyzed
using descriptive statistics, Pearson Product-Moment Correlation, and Multiple Regression
Analysis. The findings reveal that all four independent variables, immutability, transparency,
smart contracts, and data security, are significant positive predictors of both audit quality and
audit efficiency. Specifically, immutability emerged as the strongest predictor for audit quality
(β=0.450, p<0.001), emphasizing its role in enhancing the reliability of audit evidence.
Transparency was identified as the most influential factor for audit efficiency (β=0.400, p<0.001),
highlighting its ability to streamline evidence gathering and reduce information asymmetry. The
regression models explained a substantial portion of the variance in audit quality (R2=0.783) and
audit efficiency (R2=0.740). This study concludes that while blockchain technology holds
significant potential for transforming auditing, its actual impact is contingent on the strategic
leveraging of its core characteristics. The results reinforce the theoretical frameworks, suggesting
that integrating blockchain's inherent strengths into audit methodologies can lead to a more
proactive, continuous, and comprehensive assurance function, thereby fostering greater trust and
transparency in financial reporting for large corporations. Recommendations include developing
specialized training programs for auditors, initiating pilot projects, and designing audit-friendly
blockchain platforms.
Adedoyin Lukman· Journal of Accounting and Fi...· 0 citations
Transparency in public affairs interactions between companies and governments is critical to democratic legitimacy, yet existing lobby registers suffer from fragmented reporting, weak record integrity, limited traceability, and compliance gaps. This paper reports a Design Science Research (DSR) study that develops and evaluates a permissioned blockchain architecture for mandatory Public Affairs transparency. Two stakeholder surveys provided empirical grounding: Survey 1 (N = 61 domain professionals) elicited functional, non-functional, and GDPR compliance requirements, while Survey 2 (N = 14 practitioner evaluators) assessed a proof-of-concept implementation on Hyperledger Fabric following a live demonstration. Findings reveal widespread concerns over non-repudiation and auditability in current systems — 87% rated existing record integrity as weak—alongside strong endorsement for blockchain’s immutability, versioned audit trails, and hybrid on-/off-chain design to ensure GDPR-aligned traceability. Post-demonstration evaluation achieved a mean score of 4.6/5 for traceability and integrity, and 86% of evaluators recommended real-world piloting. The study makes three contributions: (i) an empirically derived requirements model and information-lifecycle framework; (ii) a hybrid permissioned-blockchain blueprint implemented on Hyperledger Fabric; and (iii) a replicable stakeholder-centric DSR methodology for sociotechnical artefact design in regulated governance contexts.
João C. Ferreira· Frontiers in Blockchain· 0 citations
The findings indicate that technologies such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and XBRL have significantly transformed accounting recording, reporting, and auditing practices, but current accounting standards remain limited in addressing key issues.
Dea Syakiroh Maghfirotun Nisa'· EL MUHASABA: Jurnal Akuntans...· 0 citations