Accounting, Capitalism and the Revealed Religions

Book excerpt: This book analyses the bearing of global monotheistic faiths towards the philosophy and practice of record keeping and accounting throughout history. The author offers a comprehensive discussion of the literal and figurative processes of taking account and ascribing accountability that link religions such as Christianity, Judaism and Islam. Chapters address theology and accounting in tandem with social behaviours to demonstrate how auditing and calculating customs permeate practising religions. This book first highlights how the four monotheisms have viewed and incorporated accounting historically, and then looks forward to the accounting debates, technologies and traditions in today’s world that derive from these religious customs. Drawing heavily on the writings of Max Weber and Werner Sombart, the author demonstrates that accounting and capitalism have religious roots far beyond the Protestant ethic.