This study aims to explore Swedish organizations within the accounting industry that have adapted their operations to the recent introduction of cloud services. Fortnox, a cloud service provider, has transformed the working methods of organizations, changed the relationship with customers and contributed to creating new rules for the market within accounting. Semi- structured interviews were conducted with employees using Fortnox in their work in areas relevant to accounting. The theoretical framework in this study combines the TOE-framework with theories such as sociomateriality, IT-strategy and technology acceptance. The study goes one step further and investigates how individuals perceive organizational change in the accounting industry as a result of cloud services. The results show that cloud services have enabled major organizational changes where accounting firms have made the strategic choice to diversify and move towards counseling. The speed with which the individual perceives that the business is adapting depends on both the individual and structural conditions that exist. / Denna studie syftar till att undersöka svenska organisationer inom redovisningsbranschen som anpassat sin verksamhet till följd av införandet av molntjänster. Inom ramen för molntjänster menas här hur användandet av Fortnox har förändrat organisationens arbetssätt och relation till kunden samt bidragit till att skapa nya spelregler för marknaden. Datainsamling har skett genom semi-strukturerade intervjuer från organisationer med anställda med relevant koppling till redovisning och som använder sig av molntjänsten Fortnox i sitt arbete. Det teoretiska ramverket för denna studie applicerar TOE-ramverket på en kvalitativ forskningsmetod och kombinerar ramverket med teorier kring sociomaterialitet, IT-strategi och teknologiacceptans av teknologi. Kombinationen leder studien djupare in på hur individer uppfattar att organisationer inom redovisningsbranschen förändrar sitt arbete med löpande redovisning till följd av molntjänster. Resultatet visar att molntjänster har möjliggjort större organisatoriska förändringar där redovisningsbyråer gjort det strategiska valet att diversifiera sig och övergå mer mot rådgivning. Hur snabbt individen uppfattar att verksamheten anpassar sig beror på vilka individuella förutsättningar samt strukturella förutsättningar som finns.

Motivation. The motivation for this thesis is to explore the only recently evolved cloud accounting phenomenon which in essence is doing accounting no longer within the boundaries of a business, but connected to the Cloud. Problem statement. The aim of this thesis is to examine the way in which cloud computing impacts accounting practice. Few previous studies have been conducted so businesses have not been able to understand the cloud accounting phenomenon thoroughly, preventing businesses from adopting their business models on the basis of the Cloud. This means that businesses have potentially missed out on opportunities for competitive advantages and growth. The purpose of this thesis is to understand the cloud accounting phenomenon in an in-depth manner. Approach. This thesis can be classified as empirical positive qualitative research and empirical quantitative case study which uses an explanatory and exploratory research approach. The case study was conducted in in-depth interviews and the extent of this work encompasses primarily the Swedish accounting environment. It consists of six cloud accounting users and two cloud accounting provider. Results. This study contributes four main findings to the existing field of research. Firstly, the initial adoption decision and acceptance of cloud accounting Software-as-a-Service is based on the perceived usefulness that the Cloud enhances the accounting process in terms of efficiency and effectiveness. The usage decision is voluntary to obtain a better image and status. Secondly, trust was identified as a central component within the relationship between user and provider in cloud accounting service partnerships. Thirdly, the Cloud brings the possibility not only for accountants, but for the entire business to access an unlimited amount of resources. Users can become easily dependant on a provider if they perceive the service as a crucial asset for their business. The dilemma between the trade-off between autonomy and certainty occurs. Users are aware that they need to give up their right for self-government for the benefit of attaining a cloud service, and expressed concerns in respect to privacy and security, implementation issues, legal requirements, and increased costs. Moreover, users fear that they become dependant and locked in with a cloud accounting provider. Fourthly, the Cloud brings the possibility to access an unlimited amount of resources not only for accountants, but for the whole business. Cloud providers offer their service to a broad customer base which means that the structures in different businesses may possibly become more similar.

Technology grows continuously within the accounting field. A lot of new technologies have been invented in order to make facilities for the accountants and increase the quality of their performance, but there is less research on what accountants need based on the characteristics of the firm that they work for. There are a lot of different kinds of obstacles to investigate and implement new technology. Sometimes it happens that a company implements a new “trendy” technology just to be up to date with the market, but after a while they see that the technology is not suited for their firm’s employees or the size of the firm. Therefore, both investors and technology creators need to be aware of the firm characteristics and its need. On the other hand, employees or graduating students need to prepare themselves for the real competitive market and it is necessary for them to know which kind of skills they need to know and which knowledge they need to learn in order to be able to enter the job market. Consequently, universities as a place that have significant roles to educate and skilling students and make them ready for the real market need to keep the curriculum up to date and in line with the market demands. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to extend the current knowledge of the potential effects of various firms’ characteristics on digitalization in accounting function and the need of new skills by providing an answer to these two main questions:➢ What is the relation between the level of digitalization in accounting function and the characteristics of firms?➢ What is the relation between the level of digitalization in accounting function and the need of skills among the employees of an accounting function?Findings from the empirical data show that accounting functions currently need to have an accountant with IT base knowledge and cloud computing knowledge besides the accounting knowledge. Moreover, results show that not all the firm characteristics have a significant role to develop and implement the new technologies within accounting functions.

Syfte: Molnbaserade tjänster har blivit allt vanligare i redovisningsbranschen. Därför syftar denna studie till att undersöka vilka faktorer som ligger till grund för små och medelstora redovisningsbyråers adoptionsbeslut vid implementeringen av molnbaserad klientredovisning. Metod: Studien utgår ifrån den hermeneutiska forskningsfilosofin med en abduktiv ansats då tidigare studier inom området varit få och att vi söker förståelse för motiven bakom människors handlingar. Rent praktiskt har elva semi-strukturerade intervjuer hos små och medelstora redovisningsbyråer genomförts. En modifierad EDI-adoptionsmodell har använts som en del av studiens teoretiska utgångspunkt. Resultat och slutsats: Faktorer som påverkar beslutet följer till stor del den modifierade EDI- adoptionsmodellen. Däremot hade organisatorisk beredskap inte lika stor påverkan som övriga tre kategorier. Dessutom upptäcktes en ny faktor, trygghet. Examensarbetets bidrag: Studien bidrar till en förståelse för vilka faktorer som är av betydelse vid adoption av molnbaserade redovisningssystem. Det bör vara av intresse för leverantörer, men även ge stöd åt redovisningsbyråer som står inför ett sådant beslut. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Ett förslag är att undersöka vilka faktorer som är av betydelse i framtiden när molnbaserad redovisning är mindre nytt, hur byråer påverkas efter implementeringen samt hur relationerna med klienterna och lönsamheten påverkas. Vidare hade det varit önskvärt att undersöka den nytillkomna faktorn, trygghet, och se om den bör läggas till som en del av en ny modifierad EDI-adoptionsmodell. / Aim: Cloud computing is more interesting now than ever before, especially in the accounting industry. Therefore, this study aims to examine which factors motivate small and medium sized accounting practices to adopt cloud-based client accounting. Method: This study assumes a hermeneutic research philosophy with an abductive approach because of the lack of previous studies in the field and that we are seeking to understand motives behind people's actions. Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with employees from small and medium-sized accounting practices. A modified EDI-adoption model was used as a part of the study's theoretical framework. Results and conclusions: The results show that most of the factors follow the modified EDI- adoption model but the organisational readiness didn ́t have as much impact on SMP:s decision as the others. A new factor, safety, was also discovered. Contribution of the thesis: The study contributes to an understanding of which factors that have an impact on SMP:s decision to adopt cloud-based client accounting. The findings should be of interest to different cloud accounting providers such as Fortnox, as well as accounting practices that are thinking about adopting cloud-based client accounting. Suggestions for future research: One suggestion for future research is to study which factors have an impact on SMP:s in the future when cloud-based accounting isn ́t seen as something new and how the client relationships and profitability of the practices will be affected by the adoption. Also, it would be interesting to examine the new factor, safety, and see if it should be a part of the future EDI-adoption model.