Accounting: sacred or secular activity?

This paper analyzes the relationships among accounting and religion literature to reply to the research question: “Is accounting placed in the sacred or in the secular sphere of the enterprise?” Within this framework (accounting & religion), still relatively young and little explored in recent years two currents of interpretation emerged that revolve around the central theme of the sacred-secular divide. Among the doctrine trends, we can point out those who hold that there is a clear-cut separation between that activity which belongs to worship (sacred) and accounting, which is bound up, according to a certain current of thought, within the secular sphere. Accounting was seen as part of the profane world and, as such, its use in the church was viewed as an unwanted intervention into the world of the sacred. Another manner of thinking, on the contrary, sanctions a strong link between the activity of worship and that pertaining to keeping the books. Roberts and Scapens (1985) consider the accountability and not so much the communication of their actions but the communication of their behaviour for which there may be a connection between the sacred and the profane sphere. There are many contributions that have taken place with respect to this argument (Accounting History, 2006; Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 2004) to highlight how accounting is marginal compared to the sacred. Consequently, our aim is to offer further interpretative keys and insights departing from the assumption that. the corporate culture is influenced by the anthropological culture. Our idea is that when one believes in God, there are areas and activities where the presence of “the sacred” is more immediate and others (accounting) where applying one’s belief is but indirect.