Year

1995

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Department of Accounting and Finance

Abstract

Many recent studies in accounting no longer see the discipline as an independent craft. Rather, accounting may be understood as a symbol which cannot be separated from its organisational and social contexts. It inherently intertwines with values, perceptions, and perspectives of members of a society within which it is conceived as a social product and has a powerful influence on shaping social realities. This study realises that the social realities are crucial, as they are capable of influentially driving and placing the life of individuals in their networks. Viewing the issues, self is central to this study as the construction of reality is apparently driven by the self. By making use of "extended" symbolic interactionism (a combination between symbolic interactionism and Islamic values) as a means to amass first-hand knowledge, this study not only attempts to capture and analyse the meanings of the realities, but also tries to comprehend the process of how self s perspective is socially moulded and of how realities are socially constructed. This study explores the realities in the framework of the Islamic values of "faith, knowledge, and action" through symbolic interactions, the indications of which signal that selves' perceptions of realities (in particular, organisation and accounting) are diverse, but the realities are seen predicated upon the same applied values - Shari'ate ethics. This study also argues that selves look upon organisation as a trust (amanah). It normatively implies that there is a need for ethically constructing a trust metaphorised organisational reality and a zakat metaphorised organisational reality for social and business organisations respectively to realise the organisations' ultimate goal, that is, disseminating mercy. In accordance to the realities, accounting is imagined as a medium that utilised to reflect the organisational realities. Therefore, to attain a high accuracy of reflections, it is propounded that the philosophical foundations of accounting knowledge should be ethically reshaped based on Shari'ah; the ethics upon which the organisational realities are also predicated. By doing so, organisational and accounting knowledge can be enlightened towards Shari'ate ethics-based knowledge. It is intended to be the "real" knowledge that may guide individuals towards selfconsciousness to worship only God through their luxuriant actions.

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Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed in this thesis are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of the University of Wollongong.