Antecedents of double-entry bookkeeping and Buddhist Temple Accounting

Abstract

This article extends Liyanarachchi (2009) by tracing evidence of Littleton’s (1927) seven antecedents of bookkeeping that may have supported the development of Buddhist Temple Accounting (BTA) in ancient Sri Lanka. The article contextualizes the seven antecedents within the socio-economic activities of the time, including the economic significance of Indian Ocean trade. This shows that although Littleton’s (1927) antecedents and a vibrant socio-economic setting were present in Sri Lanka, these supported the development of a simple accounting method which did not use double-entry bookkeeping. To explain this anomaly, the article discusses BTA vis-à-vis three other medieval developments of accounting: English manorial accounting, and early partnership and agency accounting in Italy. This shows that when societies experienced a need for accountability they successfully harnessed various capabilities of accounting to meet that need. However, the resulting accounting methods were as divergent as the socio-economic needs that motivated them. The findings support claims that accounting has “a basic core that is timeless” (Mattessich, 1998a: 200) and its development is socio-environment-specific (Perera, 1986, 1989), but challenge the view that certain preconditions would lead to double-entry bookkeeping (Littleton, 1927).