The Concept of Accounting in Islamic Bank (Indonesia Empirical Cases)

Abstract

This chapter aims to explain the implementation of accounting in Islamic banks industries. Moreover, the research question will include the following: (i) What are the principles of Islamic banking? (ii) How is the implementation of Islamic accounting in Islamic banks? (iii) What is meant by Islamic ethical principles? (iv) What is meant by Islamic financial transactions? (v) What is meant by Islamic financial statements?. Furthermore, based on the formulation of the problem, this chapter aims to understand the implementation of understanding the accounting process for Islamic banking institutions according to Islamic Accounting Standards. In addition, the implication of this chapter is to provide a scientific repertoire in the field of Islamic accounting, especially related to the Islamic banking industry.

1. Introduction

The historical background of establishing Islamic banks in various countries has differences in the year of establishment and the motivation for establishing Islamic banks in these countries. Moreover, the background and motivation for the establishment of Islamic banks in several countries are as follows:

• In 1950, the first Islamic bank was established in Pakistan. The Muslim community of fund owners founded the Islamic bank. The bank implements interest-free for savers and borrowers. This bank aims to provide loans to poor farmers to use for agricultural improvement on their land. However, banks still charge low administrative fees for borrowers to cover the bank’s administrative costs [1, 2].

• On July 25, 1963, the first Islamic bank in Egypt was established under Mith-Ghamr Islamic Savings Bank. The bank was founded by El-Naggar, who is an academic. In addition, the establishment at Mith-Ghamr was an experimental bank that imitated the savings bank in Germany, which was then implemented in rural areas in Egypt. However, the purpose of this bank is different from the savings bank in Germany, where the purpose of the Mith-Ghamr Islamic Savings Bank is to mobilize funds from the public in Egypt by applying Islamic principles to provide customers with a halal income. The objectives of establishing the Mith-Ghamr Islamic savings bank are as follows: (i) as an institution that mobilizes funds in rural Egyptian communities so that people who have excess funds can be appropriately allocated to people who need capital; (ii) as an educational center to manage the finances of the Egyptian people so that people have the habit of saving and saving to improve their welfare; (iii) helping to mobilize idle funds in Egyptian rural communities so that idle funds in the community can be used as capital for productive activities. The development of this bank was quite successful and was accepted by the people in Egypt. However, after the Mith-Ghamr Islamic Savings Bank developed quite widely in the community for approximately 3 years, this bank was closed in 1967 by the government due to political reasons [3, 4].

• In the same year (1963), with the establishment of the Islamic Savings Bank, in Malaysia, a Hajj Savings Bank was also established. The objectives of establishing a Hajj Savings Bank by the Malaysian government are (i) to accommodate savings from the people who are going for Hajj so that they can carry out the pilgrimage and also have material provisions when carrying out Hajj; (ii) empowering Malaysian Muslim community funds to participate in financing development projects in Malaysia that are under Islamic principles; (iii) in addition, with the existence of this Hajj bank, pilgrims in Malaysia can carry out their Hajj journey more safely and comfortably due to the adequate facilities and services of this Malaysian Hajj Savings Bank [5, 6].

• Meanwhile, in 1982, the first Islamic Bank in Europe was established in Copenhagen, Denmark. The background to the widespread existence of Islamic banks in continental Europe was that there was a phenomenon that investors from countries from the Middle East would bring or transfer petrodollars funds from conventional banks in Europe to Islamic banks in the European country. Therefore, in anticipation of the repatriation of these funds, governments in European countries support the strategy of conventional banking to keep investors from the Middle East by providing incentives and convenience to open Islamic banking services to conventional banks in Europe (dual-banking) [2, 7].

• The year 1992 was a milestone in developing Islamic banking in Indonesia. This was marked by the establishment of Bank Muamalat Indonesia (BMI) on the idea of the Indonesian Ulema Council (MUI) and the Indonesian Muslim Intellectuals Association (ICMI). However, at that time, BMI had not given any color to the growth of Islamic banking in Indonesia because of its relatively small assets. The Islamic banking industry in Indonesia only developed after 1999 after issuing Law No. 10 of 1998 concerning banking, so in Indonesia, there are two forms of Islamic banking, namely Islamic Commercial Banks (BUS) and Islamic Business Units (UUS) [4, 8].

Referring to the statement from [9, 10], the economic and financial crises that occurred in the world were caused by greed from humans, so they took action that maximizes profits without paying attention to environmental sustainability, social problems, and the next generation. Furthermore, the country’s economic growth also depends on the financial sector, which functions to drive the real sector in the form of business activities such as production, processing, manufacturing, and so on that contribute directly to the economy as the locomotive of the financial sector in the banking industry [11, 12]. Therefore, if the banking industry experiences a shock or disturbance, it will impact the economic crisis. For example, this happened in the period 2007–2008 where banks in America failed to distribute housing loan products, which resulted in the bankruptcy of several of these financial institutions [13, 14]. The impact of the shock on the financial sector impacts is increasing unemployment and increasing inflation, which leads to a crisis in the country [15, 16]. Therefore, according to better function of the financial sector, one of which is the banking industry as the locomotive of the financial sector, it will have implications for economic growth, which will also get better [17, 18].

In addition, according to [19, 20], the development of the number of Islamic financial institutions in the Middle East and Indonesia is as follows:

Based onTable 1, it is known that the number of Islamic financial institutions in Middle Eastern countries is 248. However, the number of Islamic banks is 52, and Islamic window banking is 32. Therefore, there is a potential for 84 Islamic bank financial institutions that will use Islamic banking accounting in Middle Eastern countries. In addition, according to Table 2, there are also 34 Islamic banks and 168 Islamic rural banks in Indonesia, so there is a potential for 202 Islamic banking financial institutions to use Islamic banking accounting. Thus the existence of Islamic accounting for banking institutions becomes a necessity.

Countries in the Middle East	Islamic bank	Financial and investment companies	Islamic banking windows	Takaful companies	Islamic insurance windows	Total	Share (%)
Bahrain	27	5	10	10	0	52	20.97
Saudi Arabia	6	21	8	28	2	65	26.21
Kuwait	5	54	2	12	1	74	29.84
Qatar	6	5	5	4	2	22	8.87
United Arab Emirates	8	10	7	10	0	35	14.11
Total	52	95	32	64	5	248	100.00
Share (%)	20.97	38.31	12.90	25.81	2.02	100

Table 1.

Islamic financial institution development in Middle East countries.

Country	Islamic bank	Financial and investment companies	Takaful companies	Islamic rural bank	Islamic microfinance institution	Total
Indonesia	34	58	7	163	4500	4762
Share (%)	0.71	1.22	0.15	3.42	94.50	100.00

Table 2.

Islamic financial institution development in Indonesia.

Therefore, based on the phenomenon of the existence of Islamic banks and the urgency of the existence of Islamic banks to improve welfare for the community, it is necessary to apply an Islamic accounting system to record, acknowledge, and disclose transactions based on Islamic principles. Thus, the formulation of the problems that will be discussed in this chapter of this book includes the following:

• What is meant by Islamic accounting?

• What is meant by Islamic ethical principles?

• What is meant by Islamic financial transactions?

• What is meant by Islamic financial statements?

Furthermore, based on the formulation of the problem, this chapter aims to understand the accounting process for Islamic banking institutions under Islamic Accounting Standards. In addition, the implication of this chapter is to provide scientific references in the field of Islamic accounting, especially related to the Islamic banking industry.

2. Discussion

Furthermore, before we discuss what Islamic accounting means, we must understand the concept of Islamic finance. The theory presented by a () states that the company’s activities running its business must understand that it must be based on the Tawhid String Relationship (TSR). Where TSR is a theory that states that all human activities, including earning a living, must be based on the Qur’an and Hadith, and other Islamic laws; however, according to [19, 20], the application of Islamic laws must also be accompanied by knowledge, so that science in Islam has an important role, therefore, in maqasid sharia (sharia goals) reason must be maintained. Sharia maqasid, according to [21, 22, 23] includes the following: hifdz al-din (religion protection), hifdz al-nafs (protection of the soul), hifdz al-'aql (protection of the intellect), hifdz al-nasl (hereditary/family protection), and hifdz al-maal (property ownership protection). Furthermore, the sharia maqasid is implemented in daily human life in meeting basic needs (daruriyyat), secondary needs (hajiyyat), and tertiary needs (tahsiniyyat). Thus, Islamic banking as a bank that applies sharia principles should apply Islamic accounting in every transaction.

2.1 Islamic accounting

The Islamic banking industry in the world has such rapid growth that an accounting system following Islamic principles must support it. According to [24], the definition of Islamic accounting based on etymology (origin of the word) comes from the Arabic language, namely Muhasabah (mashdar hassaba-yuhasibu), which means to count, measure, or add up based on Islamic principles. In addition, according to [25], Muhasabah is closely related to Hisab where Hisab is one of the processes of calculating charity during human life in the world by Allah. Therefore, for every action and activity in muamalah (human social activity), such as trade transactions, then every Muslim must always be in a state of trust, honesty and have a high commitment to keep his promises. The development of the word Hisab in Arabic refers to the word Al-Hisbah. This public institution has existed in Islamic society since the beginning of the Islamic period until the period of Western occupation that conducts inspections of trade activities. The person conducting the inspection is called the Muhtasib, whose function is to carry out the following tasks:

• Ensuring communities have the right to appropriate scales and correct measurements;

• Monitor and provide sanctions for business fraud, such as concealing damage and submitting incorrect information related to the goods being transacted;

• Conduct inspections on contracts that are not by Islamic principles that contain MAGHRIB activities (Maysir-gambling, Gharar-uncertainty activities, and Riba-interest rate) as well as activities that Allah and the Messenger prohibit;

• Maintain the implementation of the free market society;

• Preventing hoarding of goods that are needed by the community.

Furthermore, referring to the definition of Islamic accounting, according to [26], the purpose of Islamic accounting is to provide benefits for humanity. This is because the legal basis for implementing Islamic accounting comes from the Qur’an and Hadith, as well as other sources of Islamic law such as Ijma, Qiyas, and Ijtihad. Some references to verses of the Qur’an that make the legal basis of Islamic accounting are as follows:

• Al Baqarah verse 282, which means:

O you who have believed, when you contract (i.e. when you have or contract a debt) a debt one upon another for a stated term, then write it down. And let a writer write it down between you with justice, and let not any writer refuse to write it down, as Allah has taught him. So let him write and let the one upon whom is the truthful duty of payment (i.e. the debtor) dictate, and let him be pious to Allah his Lord and not depreciate anything therein. So, in case the one upon whom is the truthful duty is foolish, or weak, or unable to dictate himself, then let his patron dictate with justice. And call in to witness two witnesses of your men; yet, in case the two are not two men, then one man and two women from among the witnesses you are satisfied with, so that (in case) one of the two women should err, then either of the two should remind the other, and let the witnesses not refuse whenever they are called (upon). And be not too loath to write it down, (whether) it is small or great, with (Literally: to is term) its term. That is more equitable in the Providence of Allah, and more upright for testimony, and likelier that you will not be suspicious. Except (when) it is commerce present that you transact among yourselves, then it shall be no fault in you if you do not write it down. And take witnesses when you sell one to another, and let not either writer or witness be harmed, and in case you perform (that), then that is evident immorality in you. And be pious to Allah, and Allah teaches you; and Allah is Ever-Knowing of everything.

Therefore, related to the verse above, Muslims have instructions to record or write related to debt and receivable transactions. Furthermore, if the parties making the debts and receivables cannot record, they can use a third party to be a witness to carry out the transaction reasonably. Thus, if interpreted from the perspective of Islamic accounting, the implementation of Islamic accounting must be based on the principles of justice.

2.2 Islamic ethical principles

According to [27, 28, 29], Muslim activities must refer to the concept of the Tawhid String Relationship (TSR), where all activities and activities in the lives of Muslims must follow and obey the sources of Islamic law, namely Al-Qur’an, hadith, and other legal sources that apply. Therefore, referring to the legal basis of Islamic accounting, namely QS, Al Baqarah verse 282, then there are important things that include:

1. In the implementation of every activity with good intentions, in any case, including accounts payable, who must carry out documentation by writing it down or recording it. Thus, if there is a dispute in its implementation, there is evidence as a standard reference to resolve it fairly;

2. In addition, those who are appointed or assigned as witnesses who write or record transactions may not refuse. Allah SWT has essentially given him the knowledge and ability to write. Furthermore, the witness who writes or who records the transaction must record the transaction correctly and precisely following what is in the transaction or who is informed according to the actual incident not reduced or exaggerated;

3. Furthermore, in muamalah, it is obligatory to have and present two witnesses who will be asked to testify at any time when needed. Furthermore, the two witnesses must be male with the conditions that they must be adults who are reasonable and not a slave and have good morals. If a dispute occurs in the future, the testimonies of these witnesses can be additional evidence so that it is not only written documents that serve as guidelines in making decisions in the dispute. Therefore, with a witness mechanism, it is hoped to realize justice in muamalah;

4. In addition, if the debtor is a person who is weak in mind or weak in condition and does not have the ability because he is still tiny so he is unable to act on his own, as is the case with foreigners who do not understand the local language. Thus, the debtor can appoint a guardian or representative in this muamalah process. In addition, the guardian or representative appointed must have an honest and trustworthy attitude in carrying out his duties as a guardian in such activities;

5. Furthermore, if two males or male witnesses cannot be fulfilled, they can be replaced by one male and two females. This reflects that Islamic law is flexible and provides a solution that does not fulfill two male witnesses.

The implementation of Islamic accounting must be under the objectives and based on Islamic laws (shari’ah). Therefore, the application or implementation of Islamic accounting must meet the principles of Islamic ethics, which include:

1. Accountability, the essence of accountability, is related to trust, where trust is a responsibility in human transactions with Allah SWT. The purpose of humans being created on this earth is as a caliph where later they will be held accountable. Therefore, if implemented in accounting, it can be realized in accounting reporting;

2. Brotherhood (ukhuwah), the principle of brotherhood (ukhuwah), is essentially a universal value that regulates social interaction and harmonization of the parties’ interests for the public benefit in the spirit of mutual help. Brotherhood in Islamic transactions based on the principles of knowing each other (ta’aruf), mutual understanding (tafahum), mutual assistance (ta’awun), mutual guarantees (takaful), mutual synergy, and alliances (tahaluf);

3. Justice, the essence of the principle of justice, is to put something in its place and give something only to those who have the right and treat things according to their position. The implementation of justice in business activities is in the form of the principle of muamalah, which prohibits the existence of elements: usury (the element of interest in all its forms and types, both usury nasiah and fadhl); tyranny (elements that harm oneself, others, and the environment); maisyir (gambling elements and speculative nature); gharar (element of obscurity); and haram (haram elements in both goods and services and related operational activities);

4. Truth, the principle of truth, has a relationship with justice. Therefore, the principle of justice and truth become an inseparable unit. Furthermore, the accounting process is constantly faced with the issue of measurement, recognition, and reporting. These activities will produce good grades if they are based on truth values;

5. Benefit (maslahah), the principle of beneficence (maslahah), is essentially all forms of goodness and benefits worldly and hereafter dimensions, material and spiritual, as well as individual and collective. Shari’ah transactions that are considered beneficial must fulfill all the elements that are the objectives of shari’ah provisions (maqasid shari’ah), namely in the form of maintaining: aqidah, faith, and piety (deen); intellectual (aql); lineage (nasl); soul and salvation (nafs); and property (mall);

6. Balance (tawazun), the principle of balance (tawazun), essentially includes the balance of material and spiritual aspects, private and public aspects, financial sector and the real sector, business and social, and balance of utilization and preservation aspects. Islamic transactions do not emphasize the maximization of company profits solely for the benefit of the owners (shareholders). So that the benefits obtained do not only focus on shareholders but on all parties who can feel the existence of economic activity;

7. Universalism (syumuliyah), the principle of universalism (syumuliyah), can essentially be carried out with and for all interested parties (stakeholders) without distinction of ethnicity, religion, race, and class, following the spirit of universal mercy (rahmatan lil alamin).

2.3 Islamic financial transactions

The transaction is an activity carried out by someone that causes changes to the assets or finances owned, whether it is increased or decreased—for example, selling property, buying goods, paying debts, and paying the various expenses to meet the necessities of life [30, 31]. In the transaction, there is transaction administration. As for what is meant by the administration here, it is an activity to record changes in the finances of a person or organization, which is carried out carefully and using specific methods. Whereas in an economic system based on Islamic principles, transactions must always be based on the rules of Islamic law (shari’ah), because transactions are a manifestation of human charity that has the value of worship before Allah SWT, so that in Islamic accounting transactions can be grouped into two: (i) halal transactions; (ii) illegal transactions (haram) [31].

Furthermore, the transaction involves a contract (akad). Akad is a written agreement between the parties that contains the rights and obligations of each party, the agreed terms, and conditions under the provisions of shari’ah and applicable law. Furthermore, when viewed from a language perspective, the pronunciation of the contract comes from the Arabic pronunciation of al-acid, which means the engagement, agreement, or consensus all-ittifaq. In fiqh terminology, the contract is defined as the ties of ijab (statement by making a bond) and qabul (statement of accepting a bond) by the will of the Shari’ah, which affects the object of the engagement. So, the contract is an engagement, an agreement marked by a statement of binding (ijab), and a statement of accepting a bond (qabul) following Islamic shari’ah, which affects the object that the engagement factor binds. From this understanding, in the contract, at least two parties will carry out the engagement, then the object of the engagement and accompanied by consent and qabul for the implementation of the engagement.

In the Islamic economic system, contracts are generally divided into the tabarru’ contract and the tijarah contract. Tabarru’s contract is an agreement/contract that does not seek material gain. So, it is pure virtue and only hopes for a reward from Allah SWT, while the tijarah contract is an agreement/contract whose purpose is to seek business profits. The following is an explanation of the two types of contracts. In essence, the tabarru’ contract is a contract of doing good that expects a reply from Allah SWT alone. That is why this contract is not intended to seek commercial gain. The logical consequence is that if the tabarru’ contract is carried out by taking commercial profits, it is no longer a tabarru’ contract. Instead, it will be a tijarah contract. If he wants to remain a tabarru’ contract, he may not take advantage (commercial profits) from the tabarru’ contract. Of course, he is not obliged to bear the costs of implementing the tabarru’ contract. That is, he may ask for a replacement for the costs incurred in carrying out the tabarru’ contract. Furthermore, the difference between tabarru’ and tijarah contracts is shown in Table 3 below:

Tabarru‘	Tijarah
Not-Profit-Oriented	Profit-Transaction-Oriented
The purpose of the transaction is to help.	The purpose of the transaction is to seek commercial profits.
The party providing the kindness may ask for a fee to the beneficiary to cover operational costs. However, it is forbidden to take profit from tabarru transactions.	The tijarah transaction contract can be converted into a tabarru contract with the agreement of the owner of the funds or goods to release his rights to cancel the obligations of the party who has not fulfilled his obligations.
The tabarru’ contract cannot be converted into a tijarah contract unless followed by prior approval.	Tijarah contract can be divided into natural certainty return and natural uncertainty return.

Table 3.

Difference between Tabaru’ and Tijarah.

Source: [32].

Therefore, transactions in Islamic banks must be based on contracts that are tailored to the needs and objectives, as shown in Figure 1 as follows:

Figure 1.

The contracts on Islamic bank. Sumber: [11].

Referring to Figure 1 above, Islamic banks have different contracts tailored to each transaction’s purpose. Therefore, the products at Islamic banks are divided into 3 (three), namely (i) funding, (ii) financing, and (iii) services. Funding contracts (giro, savings, and time deposits) are divided into:

• Mudharabah (cooperation agreement) for savings and time deposits;

• Wadiah (deposit contract) for current accounts and savings.

Financing products are divided into 2 (two) principles, namely buying and selling, which generate margin and cooperation based on the principle of profit sharing. The distribution of sale and purchase financing contracts at Islamic banks includes:

• Murabahah is a pure sale and purchase contract between the delivery of goods and payment;

• Salam is a sale and purchase contract where the delivery of goods purchased at a later date or commonly called a purchase with an order, but the payment has been received in advance by the seller;

• Istishna is a sale and purchase contract based on orders with specific payment terms with a payment system based on the progress of manufacture.

Meanwhile, the financing contract based on the principle of cooperation includes:

• Mudharabah is a cooperation agreement in which the bank owns capital. The customer is the owner of the skills or expertise, divided based on the agreed ratio.

• Musyarakah is a cooperation agreement in which the bank participates in part of the capital so that both parties, both the bank and the customer, contribute funds or capital.

Furthermore, other contracts at Islamic banks include:

• Rahn, rahn is a pawn agreement that is pledging its assets to get financing;

• Qardh, qardh contract is a bailout or financing that requires no reward.

2.4 Islamic bank financial statements

Furthermore, Islamic financial reports consist of financial statements for commercial activities and financial reports for social activities consisting of:

• Activities financial report

  1. Balance sheet (statement of financial position)

  2. Income statement

  3. Statement of changes in equity

  4. Cash flow statement

• Social activities financial report

  1. Report on the source and use of zakat funds;

  2. Report on sources and uses of social funds.

In addition, financial reports have two functions, namely as a recording tool and as a tool for analyzing. Therefore, in principle, the financial statements are the same for small and giant businesses. The only difference is the nominal in it and the number of activities or activities covered by the entity. Users need financial reports at any time because financial statements can provide information regarding the following matters:

• Stakeholders must be aware of past, present, and projected financial conditions;

• Supervise company activities because financial performance can be manipulated through financial reports.

Islamic banks are financial institutions with an intermediary function in the community, collecting and distributing them back to the community following Islamic principles. Referring to Figure 1 above, the sources of funds from Islamic banks consist of:

• Wadiah Current Account;

• Wadiah Savings;

• Mudharabah Savings;

• Mudharabah Deposits.

Furthermore, the sources of funds are channeled by Islamic banks with the following financing contracts:

• Sale and Purchase (Murabahah, Istishna, & Salam);

• Profit Sharing (Mudharabah and Musyarakah);

• Rent (Ijarah);

• Other Disbursement of Funds (Rahn and Qardh).

The results of the distribution of financing to the community generate income, which includes:

• Margin Revenue;

• Revenue Sharing;

• Rental/Ujrah Income;

• Other Disbursement Income.

• In addition to running their operations, Islamic banks need operational costs such as labor, promotion, and general and administrative costs.

In addition, the financial statements of Islamic banks that are prepared and responsible for the management have a purpose for the users and stakeholders of Islamic banks. In more detail, the objectives of the Islamic bank financial statements include the following:

• Provide information for users of financial statements;

• Bank accountability report to investors;

• Improve bank compliance with Islamic principles;

• Provide information on bank compliance with Islamic principles;

• Bank accountability report in securing funds and investing at a reasonable rate of return;

• Provide information on the level of investment returns;

• Provide information for the fulfillment of social function obligations.

Furthermore, the components of the financial statements of Islamic banks that differentiate them from conventional banks include:

• Statement of financial position

• Statements of income and other comprehensive income;

• Revenue and profit-sharing reconciliation reports;

• Reports on sources and uses of benevolent funds;

• Report on sources and distribution of zakat funds.

3. Conclusions

The development of Islamic banking financial institutions in the world is a necessity. Therefore, there is great potential for using Islamic accounting in these institutions. Furthermore, based on this, in the implementation of Islamic accounting in banking, several things need to be considered, which include:

• The application of Islamic accounting refers to the Al-Quran Surah Al-Baqarah verse 282;

• The application of Islamic Ethical principles of Islamic accounting must consider the principles of (i) Accountability; (ii) Brotherhood; (iii) Justice; (iv) Truth; (v) Benefits; (vi) Balance; (vii) Universalism.

• The implementation of Islamic bank financial statements generally consists of activities financial reports and social activities financial reports.