The influence of technological advancements on forensic work and fees: an analysis from the perspective of Giddens' theory

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21680/2176-9036.2026v18n2ID40028

Keywords:

Technological advancements, Forensic fees, judicial forensic work

Abstract

Purpose: To analyze how technological advances reconfigure accounting expert practice and influence the formation and legitimation of expert fees, in light of Giddens’ Structuration Theory.

Methodology: The study adopts a qualitative and interpretative approach, employing a focus group with accounting experts practicing in the Brazilian states of Paraná and Pernambuco. Data were collected through a semi-structured guide, transcribed, and subjected to thematic analysis supported by Atlas.ti software. Empirical categories were articulated with the concepts of allocative resources, authoritative resources, duality of structure, and reflexivity of social action.

Results: Findings indicate that the digitalization of the justice system, automation of routines, and the use of artificial intelligence tools reshape operational dynamics, enhance technical capacity, and reorganize professional power relations. Technology operates as a structuring resource, influencing both professional practice and the criteria underlying the legitimation of expert fees.

Contributions of the Study: The study contributes theoretically by systematically applying Structuration Theory to the field of accounting expertise and proposing a conceptual model that articulates technological advances, structural mediation, and the reconfiguration of expert fees. Empirically, it systematizes qualitative evidence regarding professionals’ perceptions of digital transformation. Practically, it offers analytical elements for reflecting on professional valuation in contexts of increasing technological incorporation.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Annelise Torres da Costa, Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná - UNIOESTE

Master's in Accounting, Academic modality of the Graduate Program in Accounting (PPGC) at the State University of Western Paraná (UNIOESTE), with participation in the Research Group on Managerial Accounting and Control in Organizations. In the professional field, has experience in the administrative and financial area.

César da Cruz Nogueira, Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná - UNIOESTE

Holds a Master's degree in Accounting (2025) and a Bachelor's degree in Accounting from the State University of Western Paraná (2004). Currently, he/she is an analyst at the Federal Public Ministry of Brazil, assigned to the Federal Public Prosecutor's Office (SE). He/she has experience in the field of Administration, with an emphasis on Accounting.

Vagner Diogo de Souza, Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná - UNIOESTE

Master's in Accounting (UNIOESTE - 2025), Bachelor's degrees in Accounting (2004) and Law (2017), both from the State University of Western Paraná (UNIOESTE). Federal Revenue Auditor of Brazil.

Udo Strassburg, Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná - Unioeste

Doutor em Desenvolvimento Regional e Agronegócio; Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná - Unioeste, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Contabilidade

Franciele Wrubel, Universidade Estadual do Oeste do Paraná - UNIOESTE

Doctorate in Accounting and Administration from FURB (2017), Master's degree in Accounting from UNISINOS (2009). Bachelor's degree in Accounting from URI - Regional Integrated University of Upper Uruguai and Missions (2006). Professional experience in the areas of Accounting, Corporate Accounting, Cost Accounting, Administration, Budget Control, and Pricing. Professor at the State University of Western Paraná (UNIOESTE) since August 2013 and professor of the Master's program in Accounting at UNIOESTE. Served as an assistant professor at the Federal University of Tocantins (UFT) (2010-2013) and as a professor and coordinator of the Accounting course at the Lutheran University Center of Palmas (CEULP ULBRA) (2009-2013).

References

Almeida, D. M., & Beuren, I. M. (2014). Presença dos pilares da teoria da estruturação na controladoria com o processo de convergência contábil. Revista Facultad de Ciencias Económicas: Investigación y Reflexión, 22(1), 79–97. https://doi.org/10.18359/rfce.570

Bardin, L. (2011). Análise de conteúdo. Edições 70.

Berk, K. N., & Carey, P. M. (2003). Data analysis with Microsoft Excel. Duxbury Press.

Blokdyk, G. (2020). Artificial intelligence A complete guide. 5STARCooks.

Bourdieu, P. (1986). The forms of capital. In J. Richardson (Ed.), Handbook of theory and research for the sociology of education (pp. 241–258). Greenwood.

Bowker, G. C., & Star, S. L. (1999). Sorting things out: Classification and its consequences. MIT Press.

Covaleski, M. A., Dirsmith, M. W., & Samuel, S. (1996). Managerial accounting research: The contributions of organizational and sociological theories. Journal of Management Accounting Research, 8, 1–35.

Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (4th ed.). Sage.

Datar, S. M., Rajan, M. V., & Horngren, C. T. (2018). Cost accounting: A managerial emphasis (16th ed.). Pearson.

DiMaggio, P. J., & Powell, W. W. (1983). The iron cage revisited: Institutional isomorphism and collective rationality in organizational fields. American Sociological Review, 48(2), 147–160. https://doi.org/10.2307/2095101

Dillard, J. F., & Yuthas, K. (2006). Enterprise resource planning systems and communicative action. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 17(2–3), 202–223. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpa.2004.02.004

Flick, U. (2009). An introduction to qualitative research (4th ed.). Sage.

Gediel, J., Uille Gomes, M., Loureiro, M., Okamoto, A., & Garcia, M. (2023). Tecnologia, direito e inovação – Indexação à Agenda 2030 no sistema de justiça. Revista da Faculdade de Direito UFPR, 67(3), 167–192. https://doi.org/10.5380/rfdufpr.v67i3.91354

Giddens, A. (1976). New rules of sociological method. Basic Books.

Giddens, A. (1979). Central problems in social theory: Action, structure, and contradiction in social analysis. University of California Press.

Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structuration. University of California Press.

Giddens, A. (2003). A constituição da sociedade (2ª ed.). Martins Fontes.

Granlund, M. (2011). Extending AIS research to management accounting and control issues. International Journal of Accounting Information Systems, 12(1), 3–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accinf.2010.11.001

Granovetter, M. (1985). Economic action and social structure: The problem of embeddedness. American Journal of Sociology, 91(3), 481–510. https://doi.org/10.1086/228311

Introna, L. D. (2016). Algorithms, governance, and governmentality: On governing academic writing. Science, Technology, & Human Values, 41(1), 17–49. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162243915587360

Jack, L. (2017). Strong structuration theory and management accounting research. Advances in Scientific and Applied Accounting, 10(2), 211–223. https://doi.org/10.14392/ASAA.2017100205

Janssen, M., Brous, P., Estevez, E., Barbosa, L., & Janowski, T. (2020). Data governance: Organizing data for trustworthy artificial intelligence. Government Information Quarterly, 37(3), 101493. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.giq.2020.101493

Kaplan, A. M., & Haenlein, M. (2019). Siri, Siri, in my hand: Who’s the fairest in the land? On the interpretations, illustrations, and implications of artificial intelligence. Business Horizons, 62(1), 15–25. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2018.08.004

Lei n. 13.709, de 14 de agosto de 2018. (2018). Lei Geral de Proteção de Dados Pessoais (LGPD). Presidência da República. http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/_ato2015-2018/2018/lei/L13709.htm

Liu, H. Y., Maas, M., Danaher, J., Scarcella, L., Lexer, M., & Van Rompaey, L. (2020). Artificial intelligence and legal disruption. Law, Innovation and Technology, 12(2), 205–258. https://doi.org/10.1080/17579961.2020.1770199

Marx, K. (2013). O capital: Crítica da economia política (Livro I, 2ª ed.). Boitempo. (Obra original publicada em 1867)

Morgan, D. L. (1997). Focus groups as qualitative research (2nd ed.). Sage.

Remus, D., & Levy, F. (2017). Can robots be lawyers? Computers, lawyers, and the practice of law. Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, 30, 501–558.

Schwab, K. (2017). The fourth industrial revolution. Currency.

Susskind, R. (2020). Online courts and the future of justice. Oxford University Press.

Teixeira, I., & Freire, S. (2020). Impacto da tecnologia digital nos relacionamentos interpessoais. Revista Psicogente, 23(44), 1–15.

Tiwari, K., & Khan, M. (2020). Sustainability accounting and reporting in industry 4.0. Journal of Cleaner Production, 258, 120783. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120783

Wickham, H., & Grolemund, G. (2017). R for data science: Import, tidy, transform, visualize, and model data. O’Reilly Media.

Downloads

Published

06-07-2026

How to Cite

Costa, A. T. da, Nogueira, C. da C., Souza, V. D. de, Strassburg, U., & Wrubel, F. (2026). The influence of technological advancements on forensic work and fees: an analysis from the perspective of Giddens’ theory. REVISTA AMBIENTE CONTÁBIL - Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande Do Norte, 18(2), 350–373. https://doi.org/10.21680/2176-9036.2026v18n2ID40028

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 2 (2026): Jul./Dez.

Section

Section 3: Research of Field on Accounting (Survey) (S3)

License

Copyright (c) 2026 REVISTA AMBIENTE CONTÁBIL - Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Authors who publish in this magazine agree with the following terms: 

Authors keep the copyrights and concede the right of its first publication to the magazine. The work piece must be simultaneously licensed on the Creative Commons Attribution Licence which allows the paper sharing, and preserves both the author identity and the right of first publication to this magazine. 

Authors are authorized to assume additional contracts separately, to not-exclusively distribution of the paper version published in this magazine (e.g.: publish in institutional repository or as a book chapter), with the author identity recognition and its first publication in this magazine. 

Authors are permitted and stimulated to publish and distribute their papers online (e.g.: in institutional repository or on their personal webpage), considering it can generate productive alterations, as well as increase the impact and the quotations of the published paper.

Creative Commons - Atribuição-NãoComercial-SemDerivações 4.0 Internacional.