Scopus review maps four themes in blockchain research on accounting and auditing

A bibliometric review of 322 peer-reviewed publications indexed in Scopus from 2017 through 2024 found that blockchain research in accounting and auditing had expanded into a globally interconnected field organized around four main themes. The available abstract reports that the study used Bibliometrix and VOSviewer to map the literature; it does not provide the full article’s underlying tables or analytical details.

The analysis examined publication and citation trends, prominent authors, journals, institutions and countries, as well as international collaboration patterns and keyword co-occurrence networks. It also identified major thematic clusters and emerging research frontiers. The four dominant areas were blockchain adoption in accounting and auditing, its reported impact on accounting and auditing practices, blockchain-enabled sustainability and governance, and prospective integration with artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0 and data-driven auditing environments.

Beyond these clusters, the review identified digital governance, continuous auditing, cybersecurity, intelligent supply chains and technology-enabled accountability systems as emerging areas of attention. The authors describe their findings as a computational overview of blockchain-enabled accounting ecosystems, with implications for understanding interdisciplinary links and knowledge gaps. The analysis characterizes blockchain as infrastructure associated with transparency, traceability, automation and data integrity, while also reporting its use in financial reporting, assurance, governance and sustainability-related disclosure research.

The study is a literature-mapping review rather than an evaluation of blockchain implementations or an assessment of their effectiveness. Its corpus is limited to Scopus-indexed publications published between 2017 and 2024, so the findings describe the structure and trajectories of that database’s research literature rather than demonstrating that blockchain improves reporting accuracy, audit quality or regulatory outcomes. The available abstract does not report detailed quality-appraisal procedures, uncertainty intervals or sensitivity analyses, and those elements cannot be assessed from the summary alone.

Subject of Research: Bibliometric analysis of blockchain research in accounting and auditing

Article Title: Blockchain research in accounting and auditing through bibliometric and science mapping analysis

Article References: Tahat, Y., Benhayoun, I., Zejjari, I., AlMi’ani, M., & Hassanein, A. (2026). Blockchain research in accounting and auditing through bibliometric and science mapping analysis. Discover Sustainability. https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-026-04852-9

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1007/s43621-026-04852-9

Keywords: blockchain, accounting, auditing, bibliometrics, science mapping, scientometrics, Scopus, sustainability reporting, continuous auditing, artificial intelligence, Industry 4.0, research