03652nam 2200685Ia 450 991081425920332120240417034417.00-7914-8279-01-4237-4879-4(CKB)1000000000459475(OCoLC)76764534(CaPaEBR)ebrary10579089(SSID)ssj0000128498(PQKBManifestationID)11131609(PQKBTitleCode)TC0000128498(PQKBWorkID)10064612(PQKB)10740187(MiAaPQ)EBC3407666(OCoLC)63161498(MdBmJHUP)muse6324(Au-PeEL)EBL3407666(CaPaEBR)ebr10579089(OCoLC)923407881(DE-B1597)681318(DE-B1597)9780791482797(EXLCZ)99100000000045947520041119d2005 uy 0engurcn|||||||||txtccrConfession and bookkeeping[electronic resource] the religious, moral, and rhetorical roots of modern accounting /James Aho1st ed.Albany State University of New York Pressc20051 online resource (152 p.)Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph0-7914-6545-4 Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-120) and index.The problem -- Roman Catholic penance -- The "scrupulous disease" -- Business scruples -- Medieval morality and business -- The notary-bookkeeper -- The rhetoric of double-entry bookkeeping -- Confession and bookkeeping.Double-entry bookkeeping (DEB), modern capitalism's first and foremost calculative technology, was "invented" during the Middle Ages when profit making was morally stigmatized. James Aho examines the problematic of moneymaking and offers an explanatory understanding of the paradoxical coupling of profit seeking and morality by situating DEB in the religious circumstances from which it emerged, specifically the newly instituted sacrament of penance, that is, confession.Confession impacted the consciences of medieval businessmen both through its sacramental form and through its moral teachings. The form of confession produced widespread habits of moral scrupulosity (leading to compulsive record keeping); the content of confession taught that commerce itself was morally suspect. Scrupulous businessmen were thus driven to justify their affairs to church, commune, and themselves. With the aid of DEB, moneymaking was "Christianized" and Christianity was made more amenable to the pursuit of wealth. Although DEB is typically viewed exclusively as a scientifically neutral account of the flow of money through a firm, it remains as it was originally devised, a rhetorical argument.AccountingMoral and ethical aspectsBookkeepingHistoryCapitalismMoral and ethical aspectsChristian sociologyCatholic ChurchHistoryEconomicsReligious aspectsCatholic ChurchHistoryAccountingMoral and ethical aspects.BookkeepingHistory.CapitalismMoral and ethical aspects.Christian sociologyCatholic ChurchHistory.EconomicsReligious aspectsCatholic ChurchHistory.657/.2/09Aho James Alfred1942-1646734MiAaPQMiAaPQMiAaPQBOOK9910814259203321Confession and bookkeeping4112060UNINA