The ERP system impact on the role of accountants Hsueh-Ju Chen Department of Accounting, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China Shaio Yan Huang and An-An Chiu Department of Accounting and Information Technology, National Chung Cheng University, Minhsiung Township, Taiwan, Republic of China, and Fu-Chuan Pai Providence University, Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the impact of an Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) system on the role of accountants, to provide job qualifications for their reference. Design/methodology/approach – This research adopts the case study method, using on-the-spot interviews and a questionnaire to find out the effects of an ERP system on the role of accountants. Findings – The role of accountants is mainly to be transaction data handlers and financial report providers. Clearly, accountants must have certain degree of knowledge in the realm of traditional finance accounting. In addition, accounting supervisors think implementing an ERP system changes the role of accountants. Research limitations/implications – The data collected by the authors are mainly from the Shanghai Financial Center and regional businesses in Shanghai, Beijing and Taiwan. The authors are only able to study the impact of ERP systems on the role of accountants in the short-term rather than in the long-term. Originality/value – It is widely accepted that an ERP system is more than just an accounting information system, so implementing an ERP system will not necessarily promote the positions of the accounting department and accountants on the subjective cognition of accountants. Accountants need to have knowledge of financial accounting, IT and management after ERP implementation. Keywords Republic of China, People’s Republic of China, Accountants, Resource management, Enterprise resources planning, Shanghai Financial Service Center Paper type Case study 1. Introduction In today’s competitive environment, enterprises need to be reformed to get competitive advantages. The fastest and most effective way to achieve this goal is to introduce a new information system (IS) to carry out the reform. One of the systems is enterprise resources planning (ERP), which ensures all operational systems of the company are fully integrated (Maguire et al., 2010). By providing real-time access to operational and financial data, ERP system allows companies to streamline their management structure and create more flexible, more democratic and flatter organizations (Davenport, 1998). In the last two decades, ERP system has been one of the best technological solutions for the effective and efficient information management (Franc ¸oise et al., 2009). The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available at www.emeraldinsight.com/0263-5577.htm ERP system impact on accountants 83 Received 1 March 2011 Revised 26 July 2011 Accepted 26 July 2011 Industrial Management & Data Systems Vol. 112 No. 1, 2012 pp. 83-101 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0263-5577 DOI 10.1108/02635571211193653