CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION AND OUTLINE OF THE STUDY

1.0 INTRODUCTION

The background to the present study together with the research objectives and
issues, the methodology and methods used and an outline of the thesis are
presented in this chapter. In the next three sections (1.1,1.2 and 1.3) the
context of the study, the problem giving rise to the study and imperatives which
drive the study are presented respectively. This is followed in section 1.4 by a
discussion of the specific research aims and objectives of the study, which is to
inquire into the need for an alternative “Islamic accounting” given the problems
that conventional Anglo-American Accounting poses for Islamic organisations and
users. Section 1.5 outlines the research methodology and methods followed in this
study while the contribution the study makes to the Islamic accounting literature
are stated in section 1.6. This chapter ends with section 1.7 where a flowchart
and a brief outline of each chapter of the thesis are presented.
1.1 THE CONTEXT: CONVENTIONAL ACCOUNTING AND ITS RELATIONSHIP TO SOCIETY

Behind the facade of accounting as a purely technical subject, lies a reality in

which accounting and society are intertwined in a complex relationship (Burchell
et al., 1980). Accounting creates social reality (Hines, 1988) and in itself is
influenced and moulded by society (or the dominating forces within it). This is
not readily apparent to users, even accountants, who unfailingly advocate its
technical neutrality. Until recently, this was echoed even in academic circles
which tends to be dominated by a positivist epistemology in mainstream accounting
research especially in the USA (Baker & Beltner, 1997). Within this approach,
accounting is studied for its causal relationships; what is instead of what ought
to be and for the purposes of predicting and projecting profitability and cash
flows (Watts & Zimmerman, 1986). This has given rise to a whole discipline of
finance and financial markets and fund management, which has become basically a
speculative activity- a popular post-modern game in hyper-reality (McGoun, 1997).
This positivist tendency of accounting to be used for justifying speculative
financial activity (for example, in the case of the mergers, acquisitions and
privatisations (Briloff, 1990; Arnold & Cooper, 1999) has serious consequences for
any society, Islamic or otherwise. Academic circles in the West have realised this
tendency and its dire consequences for society. Hence, a discourse on the critique
of conventional Anglo-American accounting has developed which takes a more
comprehensive view of accounting in relation to its role in society. Various
accounting journals sprang up in the late 1970’s and 1980’s such as Accounting,
Organizations and Society, Advances in Public Interest Accounting, Critical
Perspectives on Accounting and the Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal
which provided a broader gateway for alternative types of accounting research.
1.2 THE PROBLEM: THE GLOBALISATION OF ANGLO-AMERICAN ACCOUNTING IN DIVERSE
CULTURES AND ENVIRONMENTS

There is also debate in academia about whether “Western” Anglo-American accounting

(from here on referred to as conventional accounting) is the appropriate system to
be accepted without question by all other cultures and people of the world
(Wallace 1990a). Initial research (e.g. Hove, 1986) has indicated that it is not,
although the extent to which western accounting is relevant or otherwise is a
matter of debate (Baydoun & Willet, 1995). A whole journal dedicated to this area
of research (Research in Third World Accounting) has sprung up and the debate is
alive and well. Research so far has indicated that there is a relationship between
accounting and culture (Gray, 1988; AlHashim & Arpan, 1992; Perera, 1989) and one
system cannot be transplanted into another cultural environment to take root
without causing dysfunctional effects on the host culture and society.
Despite this however, in recent years, there have been pressures on developing
countries with different cultures, religions, social, business and political
environments to adopt the conventional accounting principles and standards.
Consequently, their underlying philosophy is adopted without any or negligible
modification in the name of globalisation. These ‘pressures’ have been in the
guise of; (i) Harmonisation of international accounting standards by the IASC
(Taylor, 1987;Wallace, 1990b), (ii) the operations of multinational audit firms
and their clients the multinational corporations, and (iii) the professional
education imparted through the examination and qualification exporting accounting
bodies of the UK e.g. CIMA (Briston & Kedslie, 1997).
However, the spread of “Western” consumerism (Ahmed, 1992) and capitalism over
the globe is not without its opponents. The resurgence of religion especially
Islam in the Muslim countries, questions the socio-economic values of Western
capitalism and attempts to introduce its own socio-economic system in line with
its own worldview. The researcher considers that the Islamic economic system may
need an alternative “Islamic accounting” System that would provide appropriate
information which hopefully would induce user behaviour consistent with the
Islamic worldview. This research project hopes to make an initial contribution in
this area. The Islamic reaction against the attack on its values in the name of
globalisation is the imperative to this research project and is outlined in the
following section.
1.3 THE IMPERATIVE FOR THE RESEARCH: RESURGENCE OF ISLAM AND ISLAMISATION OF
KNOWLEDGE

Islam is the second largest and fastest growing religion in the world. It is not
only a ritualistic religion confined to the individual but an integrated way of
life combining politics, economics, culture, religion and every aspect of human
life. From its very beginnings, it was an integrated way of life combining the
secular and the sacred, mosque and the state, political and social life. Thus,
Noreng (1997), for example, terms it as both a “political and social project “
since its inception. This is unlike the understanding of religion in the modern
secular West where religion is separated from the state.
In this study, Islam is used in the sense of a civilisation driven by Islam- the
religion and code of life, law, ethics, government, economics and society. The
word “Islamic” is used to denote Muslim society, which lives according to Islamic
principles in all areas of life. The word ‘Muslim’ on the other hand is used to
describe the actual situation of Muslim countries where Muslims have political
power but have not implemented Islam in their political, social or economic life
although they may be at various stages of this process. This civilisational view
of Islam is not entirely novel or an entirely ‘Islamic’ perspective but is
recognised by writers in the West, for example, Hunttington (1996) who portrays
Islam in this context. Further, the Economist (1998) included ‘Islam’ as a
potential candidate for ‘super power’ status in the 21st Century although arguing
that it is very improbable given the disunity amongst its ranks and its lack of
long-range military power. Further, Talbott (1998), in commenting on the ambiguous
response of the EC on Turkey’s admission to the European Union, admitted that
European opposition to its joining was because of its ‘Islamic’ credentials and
that this should not be the case:
“The debate within the EU over Turkey resonates with references to “culture” and
“civilisation”. These words are often euphemisms for religion [emphasis mine]. The
theory is currently in vogue that the cold war rivalry between communism and
capitalism has given way to a global “clash of civilizations” including one
between the Judeo-Christian West and the Islamic world. That idea is pernicious.
If the “Europeanness” of a village depends on whether its landmarks are church
spires or minarets, then the peace of the Continent will be in recurring jeopardy
of the kind we have seen in Bosnia over the past several years and in Kosovo over
the past several months”. (Talbott, 1998)

Although the Muslim countries are not united politically and Muslim countries for
the most part are secular according to their constitutions this is due to a number
of historical factors including colonialism’s divide and rule policy. There is a
global resurgence of Islamic fervour at both local and international levels and
the aspect which most concerns this study is the aspiration of the Muslims to
order their political, social and economic life in accordance with Islamic
teachings.
Towards this end, in the socio-economic sphere, there has been a paradigm shift
from conventional utilitarian economics to Islamic Economics (Presley & Sessions,
1994). In Islamic economics, the rational economic man’s utility maximising
behaviour is replaced by the ‘homo-economicus-Islamicus’ (Al-Zarqa, 1980) whose
consumer behaviour is limited by a ‘moral filter’ and a redefined self interest
extending to the hereafter (Chapra, 1992).
To attain this “Islamic Economic System”, Islamic political and economic
organisations have been set up at the international, regional and local levels.
International politico-economic organisations include the Organisation of the
Islamic Conference (OIC) grouping 52 Muslim countries, Economic Co-operation
Organisation (ECO) grouping Iran, Pakistan, Turkey and the Central Asian States,
the newly formed D8 (group of developing eight Muslim countries) and the Gulf Co-
operation Council (GCC) which groups six Muslim gulf countries. These
organisations have economic, scientific, trade and cultural sub-committees.
More important from an accounting point of view is the setting up of local and
regional Islamic banks, insurance companies, investment companies, Muslim
treasuries (baitul mal) and endowments (al-awqaf) established to operate under
Islamic Shari’ah (Islamic law) and to achieve Islamic objectives. These
organisations are for the most part using conventional accounting principles,
which may not be appropriate to the achievement of their mission.
In addition there is a movement towards Islamisation of knowledge and disciplines
(Abu Sulayman, 1989) which basically is an attempt to critically re-examine
secular ‘western’ knowledge and to recast them with the values, norms and
assumptions of Islam.
This movement asserts that there is a ‘crisis in the Muslim mind’ which has caused
the stagnation of knowledge and progress in the Muslim world. They assert that the
way to correct the problem is to reinterpret conventional western secular
knowledge into the Islamic mould and to reintegrate human knowledge derived from
the senses and reason with revelation, the knowledge given by God through
scriptures and the Prophets; in other words, a whole new epistemology. The
apparent problem with Islamic law is that it is based on eternal principles in the
Qur’an (which is the Word of God according to Muslims) and the Sunnah (the sayings
and traditions of the Prophet Muhammad pbuh ) and the interpretation of religious
scholars over the past 1420 years. The Qur’an and the Sunnah cannot be changed.
They can only be reinterpreted within strict limits in line with the requirements
of time and space.
Unfortunately for the Muslim world, the process of development of Islamic law
stagnated around 700 years ago and the colonisation of the Muslim world leading to
the separation of politics from Islam further confounded this problem. Since the
law of the land was separated from Islam, Muslim scholars became completely out of
touch with the realities of modern society and state and many of the derived laws
for a bygone age became obsolete. After independence, not only was there an
absence of law to meet the requirements of modern society, the colonial masters
had moulded their successors in the developing world with their own philosophies
and left them with a legacy of knowledge, institutions and civilisation, divorced
from the Islamic past. The Muslim not only had problems of reinterpreting laws to
meet their current needs, there were left with an alien epistemology that
alienated their thinking from their religion and forced them to lead a double life
in their personal and societal roles.
With the Islamisation of knowledge, Muslim scholars hope to go back to their
divine sources to extract principles which together with the aid of reason and
empirical positive facts of current circumstances and place, develop new and
relevant knowledge and laws in order for Islamic society to achieve its
objectives. As part of this process, the various “modern” disciplines need to be
reconstructed on the edifice of Islam. This research attempts to make a beginning
in the Islamisation of Accounting.
1.4 THE AIM AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH

This research is an initial exploratory attempt towards establishing the need for
an alternative ‘Islamic accounting’ from a critical re-examination of the
principles, norms, objectives and normative values which underlie conventional
Anglo-American accounting and the unIslamic consequences it engenders among
Islamic and Muslim organisations and Muslim users.
The underlying philosophical values of secular “Western” Anglo-American society
are reflected in its accounting practices and principles. It is created by a
capitalistic social reality with extreme concentration of power, inequalities in
income and wealth, social and economic instability, and environmental destruction.
These are not the objectives of any civilised society let alone an Islamic one.
Changes to conventional accounting have been suggested from various perspectives:
e.g. social and environmental (Gray et al., 1996), feminist (Reiter, 1997), deep
green (Cooper, 1992) and Marxist (Cooper & Hopper, 1990). However, they do not
take the spiritual element seriously as does Islam and therefore cannot be used as
a tool to achieve the objectives of an Islamic society.
Further, there are currently 192 Islamic banks and financial institutions in the
Muslim world and other countries (Timewell, 1998). These institutions are
springing up even in Western countries where Multinationals such as Chase
Manhattan and Australian New Zealand (ANZ) banks establish special Islamic
counters or branches to serve the niche market (or capture the significant Muslim
funds). Islamic insurance companies (known as takaful) are also operating together
with relief organisations (e.g. Islamic Relief, Muslim Aid and Human Relief
Foundation in the UK). Zakat agencies have been set up to collect and distribute
Zakat, a religious wealth/income tax. There are Islamic universities, pilgrim fund
management boards, Islamic hospitals, and Islamic foundations.
In addition business corporations are being set up following the Islamic model in
Muslim countries such as Egypt (El-Ashker, 1987). Most of them use conventional
accounting, which may not be suitable to the development of an Islamic
economic/social environment and the achievement of their Islamic mission for which
they have been set up. This is despite the fact that a regulatory agency, the
Accounting and Auditing Organisation for Islamic Financial Institutions has been
created which has issued certain Accounting Standards for Islamic banks (Pomeranz,
1997; Karim, 1999).
Besides arguing for the need for an Islamic accounting, this research attempts to
explore and develop the objectives and characteristics, from an Islamic
perspective, of an accounting, which will serve the purposes, and objectives of
Islamic society. The researcher suggests that the worldview, principles,
objectives and values of Islam are different from secular Western society. As
such, the particular obligations and prohibitions in the economic and social arena
under the Islamic Shari’ah (Islamic Law) require a different accounting framework
and different accounting concepts, rules, principles and guidelines to achieve the
objectives of an Islamic society. The researcher suggests therefore that
conventional accounting may be inappropriate tool for the task. Further the
establishment of Islamic organisations within Muslim societies requires an
immediate practical as opposed to only a theoretical need for an alternative
Islamic accounting. There is a danger that the continued use of conventional
accounting without at least a major modification may result in a deviation if not
a frustration of the objectives and mission for which the organisations were
established. This alternative accounting which would be in line with the mission
of Islamic organisations and the world-view of Muslim users is termed “Islamic
accounting” by the researcher.
Further, since one cannot find the objectives and rules of Islamic accounting in
detail in the Qur’an, the researcher aims to follow the methodology of Islamic
jurisprudence of ‘Ijma (consensus) of scholars and experts in the area. The second
part of the study will therefore seek to find the consensus of Muslim Accountants
and Accounting academics in Malaysia by surveying their perceptions on
conventional accounting and on the objectives and characteristics of Islamic
accounting which have been derived in the earlier part of the study.
One of the assumptions of the researcher in this project is that the need for
Islamic accounting is partly based on the assumption that conventional accounting
is not suitable for Muslim organisations and users. The researcher believes that
conventional accounting leads to unIslamic Financing, Investment and Operating
behaviour among Muslim users. Further, certain aspects of accounting lead to
behavioural problems from an Islamic moral/ethical perspective. The third part of
this research aims to elicit information on the validity of this assumption.
In short the objectives of this research can be divided into three main parts:
• To argue the need for and to enquire into the objectives and characteristics
of an “Islamic accounting” derived from Islamic values and an Islamic worldview
which is more appropriate to an Islamic society;
• To explore the consensus or otherwise of Muslim accountants and academics on
the objectives and characteristics of Islamic accounting; and
• To ascertain the extent to which conventional accounting is unsuitable for
Muslims and Islamic organisations by obtaining information regarding its
behavioural effects.
1.5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND METHODS

According to perceived wisdom (see for example, Burrell & Morgan, 1979), an
exploratory study of this nature should use either a grounded theory (code
analysis) or case study (critical analysis) or a historical structural analysis
approach to explain, diagnose and understand the issues under study. Gioia &
Pitre (1990), however, argue for a multi-paradigm approach to theory building,
which has been adopted due to the nature of the study and the limitations of
practicality. Hence interpretive, critical, structural (in terms of probing
historical evidence) and functionalist approaches (in terms of testing hypothesis)
have been employed in this study.
A normative/deductive methodology is used in this research to argue the case
against the adoption of conventional accounting by Islamic organisations and
societies and to deduce the outlines of an “Islamic accounting theory”.
Specifically, disclosure of the distortions caused by the social construction of
an UnIslamic reality by conventional accounting is critically analysed to describe
and critique in the hope of change through revising consciousness of users.
In contrast to the proposed emancipatory accounting (e.g. Tinker, 1985) which
stops short of prescribing changes, an initial attempt is made to propose an
alternative Islamic accounting system in terms of its objectives and
characteristics in line with Islamic values. Here, the researcher will attempt to
deduce the characteristics of Islamic accounting from general principles and
values from the Islamic worldview.
Finally a nomothetic method (which is usually reflective of a positivist
methodology) is followed using survey techniques and basic statistical analysis to
test certain hypotheses to study the consensus on objectives and characteristics
of Islamic accounting. Although this may seen to be inconsistent with a normative-
deductive and ‘critical’ methodology employed in the first part of the research,
the researcher justifies this in terms of the objective of the second part of the
research. This is to elicit evidence on consensus of the respondents on Islamic
accounting, as well as to gauge the extent of unIslamic behaviour of users caused
by conventional accounting, both of which are positive (what is?) issues.
The methods used in the various stages of this research are:
(a) Review the literature on criticisms of conventional accounting and examine
and extend them from an Islamic perspective. Also the literature on Islamic
worldview, Islamisation of knowledge and the Islamic economic system will be
reviewed and contrasted with the values inherent in the capitalist economic system
of the West, to argue the need for an alternative Islamic accounting.
(b) Deduce the objectives and characteristics of an alternative “Islamic
accounting” from the worldview, objectives, values and economic norms of the Islam
and the Islamic economic system.
(c) Test the perception and consensus or otherwise of Malaysian Muslim
accounting academics and professional accountants on the characteristics of
Islamic accounting using postal questionnaires.
(d) Undertake two further surveys of finance managers and organisational
employees in other functions in various organisations to find out the extent to
which, if any, conventional accounting practices within organisations result in
unIslamic behaviour.
1.6 ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO KNOWLEDGE AND LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY.

To the knowledge of the researcher, this is the first study of “Islamic

accounting" of its kind both in terms of theoretical enquiry and empirical
investigation. The word “Islamic accounting” has been in the literature since the
late 1980’s (e.g. Hayashi, 1989; Choi & Mueller, 1992). There has been great
expectations regarding its development. Hayashi (1989) for example, studied the
implication of Islamic accounting for Western Accounting while Choi & Mueller
(1992) gave “glad tidings” of Islamic accounting in the following words:
“There is every reason to believe that in due course something labelled “Islamic
accounting” will be identified and propagated (p57)......An Islamic perspective is
beginning to assert itself upon the international accounting scene. Its beginnings
are modest, but its fervour adamant. We believe that the Middle-East region will
continue to make accounting news as the twenty-first century breaks”. (Choi &
Mueller, 1992, p57 and 65)

There have been some recent attempts to develop Shari’ate Accounting (Triyuwon &
Gaffikin, 1996) and Islamic corporate reports (Baydoun & Willet, 1998). The paper
by Triyuwon & Gaffikin (1996) argues from a critical perspective using the
language of philosophy. Baydoun & Willet (1998) argue for an Islamic Value Added
corporate report, cash flow statement and current value Balance Sheets. However,
in the researcher’s opinion, Baydoun & Willet’s (1998) theoretical arguments are
rather brief.
Despite these important contributions, however, instead of exploring the theory
first, most research has jumped into the practice bandwagon by exploring the
accounting implication of Islamic banking (e.g. Karim, 1995 and 1998a). Perhaps
this is to be expected as conventional accounting represents itself as objective
and neutral and “misleads” its acquaintances into thinking that it can be modified
for new areas such as Islamic banking without recourse to a fundamental re-
examination of its principles. This research initiates a contribution to basic
theory or conceptual framework to this area with its enquiry into to the
objectives and characteristics of Islamic accounting (Chapter 6).
There is also no study attempting to compare conventional accounting to the
proposed Islamic one. In particular, there is no exposition of the fundamental
philosophical tenets of conventional accounting in the mould undertaken, for
example, by Gray et al. (1996) in their call for social accounting or that
undertaken by Tinker (1985) in his bid for an “emancipatory accounting”. There is
also no examination of these expositions from the Islamic perspective. This
research (see Chapter 3) tries to fill this gap at least partially and contributes
to the critical and social accounting literature by adding the “confounding”
element of Islam (Hamid et al., 1993) to the debate.
Further, not many seem to have answered the call of the proponents of the
Islamisation of Knowledge (see Chapter 4) in the discipline of accounting compared
to the discipline of Islamic Economics (see for example, Haneef, 1995). The
analysis of the Islamisation methodologies (Chapter 4) and its partial adoption in
this project contributes to academic support for Islamisation of disciplines as a
whole and for accounting in particular. It is hoped that this thesis will make
Islamisation of knowledge a more concrete and practical idea.
To the author’s knowledge, this research is also the first to contribute empirical
survey results on the objectives and characteristics of Islamic accounting
(Chapters 8 and 9). The results show strong support among Malaysian Muslim
Accountants and Accounting Academics for the replacement of the decision-
usefulness framework of conventional accounting with an “Islamic Accountability”
framework of Islamic accounting. Further, stakeholders other than shareholders and
creditors (who are the focus of conventional accounting) are considered at least
as important as users of Islamic accounting information. The respondents also view
the integrated disclosure of Islamic, social and environmental information as the
hallmark of Islamic accounting.
There is also a lack of research on whether conventional accounting causes
unIslamic behaviour by Islamic organisations and Muslim users. This research
argues that negative behavioural consequences for internal users may make
conventional accounting unsuitable to a Muslim society, to Muslim users and to
Muslim organisations. The current research contributes to the literature through a
survey to gain insight into this area (Chapter 10). Although the results do not
conclusively substantiate the validity of the researcher’s arguments in practice,
the evidence presented has raised some doubts. This at least calls for further
research in the area.
The nature of the research project (time and cost constraints) restricted the
scope of the study from including a more extensive survey. Future research could
extend the survey to other employees in various organisations in Malaysia,
accountants and accounting academics in other Muslim countries and a Delphi method
of brainstorming Islamic scholars on the subject could be undertaken to make the
subject credible under Islamic law.
To gain further insight into the behavioural consequences of conventional
accounting in Islamic organisations and among Muslim employees, case study
research extending over a period of time is necessary. This research has been
limited by the lack of access to Islamic and Muslim organisations for in depth
case studies. Future research could overcome these problems and gain a deeper
insight into the behavioural implications of conventional accounting on Muslims.
The next section presents the outline of the thesis through which these
contributions came about.
1.7 OUTLINE OF THE THESIS

Figure 1-1 on the next page, shows the structure of the thesis. A synopsis of the
study follows:
This chapter has provided the background to the problem, outlined the research
aims and objectives, described the research methodology and methods used and
highlighted the original contribution this study has made to the Islamic
accounting literature.
In chapter 2, the relationship of conventional Anglo-American accounting and the
worldview and values of “Western” society are reviewed. It is argued that
Accounting being a social institution (Roslender, 1992) is not value free and
objective. Conventional accounting in particular has imbedded values of the
capitalist economic system, which in turn reflect the values developed from the
historical experience of Europe including its enlightenment and modernist phases
of development. The Western values of democracy, secularism, individualism,
utilitarianism and consumerism are analysed as the underlying assumptions and
rationale under which accounting works. The implications of this for the economic
objectives, norms and behaviour are traced out and its implication for accounting
as an information provision system delineated. The worldview and values of Islam
is then presented and shown to lead to an ethical Islamic economic system. These
are then contrasted with the Western worldview and values and the capitalist
economic system and are shown to be different from the Islamic worldview, values
and economic system. Thus, the requirement for an alternative Islamic accounting
system is posited.

FIGURE 1 1:STRUCTURE OF THESIS

In chapter 3, a critique of conventional accounting is undertaken in terms of its

objectives, characteristics and consequences. Taking the cue from social,
environmental and critical accounting literature, it is argued that the
objectives, characteristics, consequences and the environment under which
conventional accounting operates (the push factors) are totally unsuited to
accounting for transactions in an Islamic society. In particular, the existing
social and critical literature on accounting is examined from an Islamic
perspective to argue the need for an Islamic accounting system.
In chapter 4, the first category of “pull factors” which make Islamic accounting
necessary - the Islamisation of knowledge, is defined, discussed and categorised.
The debate on the Islamisation of knowledge is extended by its discussion in the
context of the general epistemology and methodology of research in general, and
the Burrell & Morgan (1979) framework in particular. The implications of the
various methodologies of Islamisation for the Islamisation of accounting and for
this research project are explored and the methodology for this study adopted.
In chapter 5, the second category of “pull factors”, the establishment of various
Islamic organisations with their own Islamic objectives and legal framework, is
outlined. In particular, the operations and financing techniques of Islamic banks
and financial institutions are used to show the relevance and importance of an
alternate “Islamic accounting” systems for these institutions.
In chapter 6, the objectives and characteristics of Islamic accounting are
developed from the Islamic worldview and a perusal of the literature in Islamic
accounting. An “Islamic accountability model” is posited as the framework and
objective of Islamic accounting in contrast to the decision-usefulness of
conventional accounting. Some problems of recognition, measurement, valuation and
disclosure principles of conventional accounting are discussed and Islamic
alternatives proposed.
In chapter 7, the research design, data collection methods in general and a
justification for the survey method adopted in this research are presented. The
design and structure of the research instruments (questionnaires) are discussed.
This is followed by a discussion on the population and sample characteristics. The
procedure followed for data collection, including problems encountered during the
empirical part of the research, is outlined.
In chapter 8, the responses to an “Islamic accounting questionnaire” sent to
professional accountants and academics in Malaysia are analysed and the findings
presented. The results indicate strong support for Islamic accounting.
In chapter 9, several hypotheses regarding Islamic accounting are tested on the
data from the Islamic accounting questionnaire. The results of the statistical
analyses conducted on the data support the hypotheses of the researcher except
those regarding certain conventional accounting principles.
In chapter 10, the results of the questionnaires on behavioural consequences of
conventional accounting are presented. The results are mixed although there is
some evidence to suggest that conventional accounting does cause some unIslamic
behaviour although its undesirable effects seem to be less prominent in Islamic
business organisations.
The research is summarised in chapter 11 where conclusions are drawn as to the
implications of the findings and the direction of future research is suggested.
The researcher concludes with the original contributions to knowledge of this
research.