A software architecture for the automatic processing of physical or digital accounting documents

The advancement of technology and its integration into our daily lives has created a need for organisations to adapt and digitally transform working methods and how we use the available digital tools to conduct business successfully. Organisations implement digital transformation initiatives in addition to their internal processes, which can start in one department and expand to the entire organisation. The main objective of this article is to propose a new architecture for the automatic processing of accounting documents. The new architecture aims to streamline organisations by helping them transform the accounting area, enabling better decision-making, access to relevant information, and cost reduction. The study includes concepts related to accounting, the accountant’s profession, and the impacts/challenges regarding information technologies. It also includes principles on AI, machine learning, optical character recognition, process automation, intelligent interfaces, intelligent accounting tools, and a set of available products. With the necessity of proposing a standard software architecture to process accounting documents, a proposal with four stages (classification, document management, integration, and analytical stages) was developed and later validated by specialists. This proposal is expected to contribute to organisations’ clear understanding when implementing these architectures, besides enriching the scientific field by bringing a new perspective to future research on this subject.