Hidden Interests In Credit And Finance

Hidden Interests in Credit and Finance takes an anthropological approach to the roots of Western finance and credit in ancient societies from early Mesopotamia to eleventh-century Islam. The authors reveal that credit is not just an economic transaction but also a social relationship and a technology of power.

In The Roots of Western Finance: Power, Ethics, and Social Capital in the Ancient World, Thomas K. Park and James B. Greenberg take an anthropological approach to credit. They suggest that financial activities occur in a complex milieu, in which specific parties, with particular motives, achieve their goals using a form of social, cultural, or economic agency. They examine the imbrication of finance and hidden interests in Mesopotamia, ancient Egypt, classical Greece and Rome, the early Judeo-Christian traditions, and the Islamic world to illuminate the ties between social, ethical, and financial institutions. This unique breadth of research provides new perspectives on Mesopotamian ways of incentivizing production through financial arrangements, the source of Egyptian surpluses, linguistics and usury, metrological influences on finance, and the enduring importance of honor and social capital. This book not only illustrates the particular cultural logics that drove these ancient economies, it also depicts how modern society’s financial techniques, ethics, and concerns with justice are attributable to a rich multicultural history.

An insider's guide to understanding and eliminating accounting fraud How do these high-profile accounting scandals occur and what could have been done to prevent them. Hidden Financial Risk fills that void by examining methods for off balance sheet accounting, with a particular emphasis on special purpose entities (SPE), the accounting ruse of choice at Enron and other beleaguered companies. J. Edward Ketz identifies the incentives for managers to deceive investors and creditors about financial risk and also shows investors how to protect their investments in a world filled with accounting and auditing frauds. J. Edward Ketz, PhD (State College, PA) is MBA Faculty Director and Associate Professor of Accounting at Penn State's Smeal College of Business. He has been cited in the press nearly 300 times since Enron's bankruptcy, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.. He has a regular column in Accounting Today.