The impact of COVID-19 on the Accounting system in Kazakhstan

The impact of COVID-19 on the Accounting system in Kazakhstan

Abstract: This article's goal is to estimate the upcoming pandemic and quarantine measures and evaluate how adaptable COVID-19's accounting is.  Study design, data and methodology: The study focused on its core question.  How badly COVID-19 is affecting accounting in Kazakhstan.  To address this problem, a formal questionnaire was developed.  The questionnaire was distributed through social networks.  Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis was used for the analysis.  Results: The study found a moderate impact of COVID-19 on the accounting profession in Kazakhstan.  Pandemics are causing a lot of changes.  Most accountants are working remotely during the pandemic, not before.  They have adapted to new technologies.  Meetings and trainings are held virtually.  Conclusions In summary, the global COVID-19 pandemic is moderately impacting the accounting profession.  The changes brought about by pandemics will move the accounting profession forward.  These revolutionary changes will become the new normal in the world.

Keywords: accountant, pandemic, accounting, business, economy during a pandemic, Kazakhstan, Kazakhstan economy.

1. Introduction

The economic sphere of Kazakhstan is one of the current leaders in Central Asia. Every year our government builds some plans for its improvement and development. In turn, enterprises pay taxes to the country's budget, thereby improving the economy of Kazakhstan. Accounting is the main component of economic activity. Any type of activity that has its own income and expenses should be under control. Without proper accounting and control processes, it is impossible to plan the work of the entire company. Accounting at the enterprises of our republic is conducted in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The coronavirus epidemic that occurred in 2020 affected all spheres of human life. It also affected the work of businesses and enterprises, forcing most of them to close during the lockdown, reduce the number of staff and transfer their employees to remote operation.

The relevance of the research topic (topicality), the situation with COVID-19, which has taken on a global scale, has made changes both in the work of the entire economy and in accounting procedures. Along with the transition to remote work, there have been structural changes in the activities of accountants. The relevance is determined by the identification of how much the above-mentioned changes have affected the entire general system in the field of accounting and the forecast for further progress in this direction.

The purpose of this article is to assess the adaptability of accounting in COVID-19 and make a forecast for the following quarantine and pandemic measures.

Research objectives: 

 1. Research accounting in small and medium-sized businesses.

 2. Examine the impact of COVID-19 on the accounting sector and adaptability to repeated quarantine measures.

 3. Compare the practice of foreign countries with domestic.

1. Literature Review

According to Edwards (2021), COVID-19 has influenced the growth of cloud accounting adoption, and now it has become much more widespread. If earlier in the accounting industry, on average, about 40% of employees worked from home before the pandemic, then during the quarantine due to COVID-19, this figure doubled to 83%.

According to Guo and Pippin (2022), COVID-19 was the impetus for the necessary changes, which served to create an action plan in unforeseen situations and reduce office space. As well as the introduction of a new system of hiring and flexibility of the work schedule.

According to Akhter (2020), digital relationships have become more widely practiced with the transition to remote work, and video conferences have begun to replace personal meetings and phone calls with clients.

According to Dameron (2022), as a result of the pandemic, new trends have emerged that affect accounting in the enterprise, for example: digitalization and the balance of efficiency. Which subsequently led to changes in requirements in the post-pandemic world, namely, emphasis was placed on adaptability and business acumen.

According to Guselshchikova and Serdyukova (2021), it will be important for accountants and auditors to improve their qualifications in conditions of instability. This is due to the fact that their profession is subject to a regime of continuous assessment and compliance with an ever-changing environment that makes their work more difficult.

According to Murzalieva and Amangelda (2021), accounting and financial reporting on transactions related to the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic should be carried out by companies in accordance with the requirements of IAS 10 "Events after the reporting period".

Kuandykovna (2021) has achieved several findings. In her research, she identified 4 reasons not to reduce accounting expenses during a pandemic at enterprises. She also noted that accountants play a significant role in protecting businesses from impending shocks.

According to IFAC (2020), accounting should accelerate new ways of working, use technology, bring work in line with new and changing requirements of society and, above all, ensure security, whatever the future holds for us.

Hypotheses:

Covid-19 has contributed to the optimization of accounting in consequence of the current time a large number of accountants work in a remote format.

Accounting of various enterprises will be able to withstand a pandemic in the future.

Reducing accounting costs during a pandemic in small and medium-sized enterprises is a mistake.

1. Methodology 

   We use such methods as comparison, online interview, survey. The comparison method is one of the most common methods of cognition, and it allows you to identify similarities or differences between pandemic situations in different countries. In an interview, we asked if it was a mistake to reduce accounting costs during the pandemic at small and medium-sized enterprises. An online survey is a way to collect economic and sociological information using the latest web resources. Most often, such surveys are conducted using an interactive questionnaire, which are posted on a specific site. You can answer the questions provided both from a computer and from a mobile device. We have included the following questions in the Internet survey method: