(New answer without plagiarism please)

Question 3 (20 marks)

• A monumental change is emerging in accounting: the movement away from the decades-old method of periodic financial statement reporting and its lengthy closing process, and toward issuing financial statements on a real-time, updated basis real-time financial reporting provides financial information on a daily basis. Current technology allows financial events to be identified, measured, recorded, and reported electronically, with no paper documentation (Source: Real-Time Accounting, The CPA Journal, April 2005).

in 300 wods Discuss the above statement explaining:

• Would a shift toward realtime financial statements make the financial information more useful or less useful? More or less relevant? More or less reliable?
• In this regard, what is the potential role of the accountant?