Searching for the accounting features of capitalism: an illustration with the economic transition process in China

In this paper, the authors show that capitalism and double-entry bookkeeping are not indissociably interconnected as Sombart argued in his book in 1916. Indeed, the double-entry bookkeeping accounting system was also adopted by anti-capitalist countries where a new economic system was set up. A study of how accounting has changed with the economic transition in China helps us identify those "accounting features" required for a capitalist economy that clearly differ from those needed for the planned and centralized economy.