A Look at Defining Scope of Accounting Ontology using Text Documents

• In Event: SET Section

Abstract

The domain of accounting is very dynamic with constant developments. The amount of textual data generated through sources such as financial statement disclosures, press releases, news wire, judicial and administrative decisions, and professional literature is enormous and is increasing in size. That being the case, to be used in real life, accounting ontology development is not a one-time activity but a process that needs to be updated continuously. For that process to be efficient it is important that the development process be automated and enabled to incorporate new data continuously. Traditionally, ontologies have been developed manually. However, the development of accounting ontology based on manual methods is not practical. We propose an empirical examination of textual content of documents in the accounting domain to support automatic construction of such ontologies. Accounting ontology has many uses in the accounting profession. For instance, it can be used as an educational tool as well as in developing ontology-based automated applications that can be used in the audit process. In addition, an accounting ontology will provide a medium to facilitate knowledge sharing and organize knowledge that is acceptable by the users of the community. It will also aid in conceptually structuring sub-domains of interest in accounting domain.

Authors

• Sunita Goel, Siena College

• Margaret Garnsey, Siena College

• Jagdish S. Gangolly, University at Albany, SUNY