The main goal of publishing this special section of the current issue is to draw attention to the divergence of AIS and government accounting research. The two bodies of literature have so far remained fairly separate, with little crossover, despite the emerging importance of technology in the government sector.
Before discussing the main contributions of the articles in this special section of JETA's Spring 2018 issue, it may be valuable to start with a brief discussion of the similarities and dissimilarities between AIS research and government accounting research.
A quick examination of the current research topics (as indicated by author-selected keywords) published in four American Accounting Association section journals presents interesting trends. The four journals examined are the Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting (JETA), Journal of Information Systems (JIS), Journal of Governmental & Nonprofit Accounting (JOGNA), and Accounting and the Public Interest (API).1
Author-selected keywords in...
