STUDENTS READINESS FOR ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUTOMATION INTEGRATION INTO ACCOUNTING EDUCATION IN PUBLIC AND PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES IN EDO STATE, NIGERIA

This study examined Student Readiness for Artificial Intelligence and Automation Integration into Accounting Education in Public and Private Universities in Edo State, Nigeria. Four research questions were raised to guide the study and one hypothesis was formulated and tested at 0.05 level significance. The study employed a descriptive survey research design. The population of this study comprised two hundred and sixty-three (263) Accounting Education students from University of Benin (UNIBEN); Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma; Igbinedion University, Okada (IUO) and Benson Idahosa University, Benin City(BIU). The study employed a census sampling technique where the entire population of 263 Accounting Education students in the selected Public and Private Universities were used. The research instrument used for data collection was a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was titled “Student Readiness for Artificial Intelligence and Automation Integration into Accounting Education Questionnaire (SRAIAIAE)”. The instrument for data collection was validated by the researcher's supervisor and two experts from the Faculty of Vocational and Technical Education, University of Benin, Benin City. The instrument was administered to 20 students who were not part of the study population. The responses of the respondents were analyzed and a coefficient of 0.77 was obtained, which showed that the instrument was reliable. The findings revealed that Students are aware of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation technologies in Accounting and students are willing to adopt AI-driven accounting solutions to a high extent. From the findings of the study, it was concluded that Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Automation significantly influenced Accounting Education in Public and Private Universities in Edo State, Nigeria. It was recommended among others that government should Government and private sector stakeholders should fund AI-driven accounting education initiatives in universities