Problems and Obstacles in Accounting Operation of Accounting Offices in Northeastern Region of Thailand

Abstract

The objectives of this study were: to investigate the use of accounting professional knowledge, problems and obstacles in accounting operation, to compare personal data and accounting office data that affected the problems and obstacles in accounting operation, and to explore the effects of the use of accounting professional knowledge on the problems and obstacles in accounting operation. The data were collected from 158 accountants between March and May 2015 using questionnaires and analyzed for descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that accountants of accounting offices in the Northeastern Region Thailand had the overall opinion on the use of accounting professional knowledge at the ‘High’ level. The highest mean score for the opinion was on accounting operation, followed by tax accounting, and setting up accounting. The overview of the opinions on the problems and obstacles in accounting operation was at the ‘Moderate’ level, with the highest mean score on accounting standards, followed by tax accounting, and customer. Moreover, the investigation of relationships between personal data, accounting office data, and accountants’ use of accounting professional knowledge that affected the problems and the obstacles in accounting operation revealed that age differences had effects on the overall problems and obstacles in accounting operation as well as the customer and technology utilization. Additionally, experiences in accounting were also obstacles in accounting operations related to customers and the use of accounting standards, while differences in accounting educational qualifications influenced work performance. Lastly, the use of accounting professional knowledge affected the problems and obstacles in accounting operation, where problems and obstacles regarding managerial accounting, education, and accounting technology affected accounting operation of the accountants the most.

Apart from that, the research findings suggested the following guidelines for the accounting operations. 1) Customers: Customers should prepare all the required documents and arrange them in the correct order. Customers should also give importance to accompanied documents to submit as financial budgeting and to file the tax correctly. 2) Accounting Standards: As the accounting standards are being updated continuously, accountants should get updated and make regular changes to those standards. 3) Taxation: There should be improvement on taxation according to changes of related current situations and the future trends to reduce the taxation gaps. 4) Information Technology: Information technologies need to be increased in numbers and accounting software should be updated. 5) Accountant Practices: Accounts should receive trainings on proper accounting knowledge and auditing principles in order to use the data for effective accounting plans.