WERE ISLAMIC RECORDS PRECURSORS TO ACCOUNTING BOOKS BASED ON THE ITALIAN METHOD? A COMMENT [with Response]

Some readers might have interpreted Zaid [2000] as claiming that the accounting practices of the Islamic State already used or directly led to double entry. This comment puts Zaid's paper into the context of prior literature and points out that no evidence is offered in that literature or by Zaid to dispute an Italian origin for double entry. Nevertheless, there are clear influences from the Muslim world on some antecedents to Western accounting developments and on some features of pre-double-entry accounting in the West. Offers a response to Nobes' comment on Zaid [2000]. Focuses on Nobes' interpretation of the arguments presented by Zaid, his contentions about' pious inscriptions' and the use of the term 'journal'. Calls for broader thinking on the history of double entry bookkeeping and for more research on possible antecedents in the Islamic state.