Perceptions of accounting professionals about the influence of information technology in their individual work process

The continuous flow of technological innovations, combined with the changes that occur in accounting practice is changing the organizational environment and the people involved. Accounting professionals use IT to be able to make reliable and timely information available to managers, supporting the decision making process. This investigation aims to identify the perceptions of accounting professionals from the State of Parana, Brazil about the use of IT in their individual activities. Data collection was done with an online questionnaire. 362 responses were obtained, validated by Factor Analysis and submitted to reliability testing with Cronbach's Alpha coefficient. The research findings reveal that users indicate higher benefits in Productivity, moderate benefits in Management Control and Customer Satisfaction, and less intense benefits in Innovation. With respect to the participation of accounting professionals in the three levels of decision-making, Cluster Analysis revealed the formation of five respondent groups: Interns, Operational Supervisors, Department Heads, Vice-Directors and General Directors.   Key words: Information technology, accounting, work process, benefits, productivity.