Accounting Regulation: A Conversation between a Hippy and God

To regulate or not to regulate, that is only part of the question. The purpose of regulation, theenforcement of regulation, and the social acceptance of regulation are the other parts of thequestion. To address these issues, this paper takes the form of a dialogue between anaccounting student and God. This accounting student is an old hippy. She was a trainee witha firm of Chartered Accountants when she was in her early twenties, but didn’t finish as shewas obviously too young to think that three years isn’t her whole life. She has returned toaccounting in her fifties, after changing between hundreds of different odd jobs and travellingaround half the world. At this moment, she is struggling with an assignment on accountingregulation. Her God, of course, is a She and wants to help. She thinks at least She can talkabout regulation in an intelligent way. So, She makes Herself bump into her on her regularmorning walk around the lighthouse