DETACHED FINANCE - THE SECRET

There is a vast amount of education and training in finance. However, there are still significant problems with trust, something central to sustainability and long terms success. The BBC World Service are presently doing a series on this for The Compass, and they interviewed me on this theme. I spoke about the Jains, one of the oldest living cultures of the world and their history of success, resilience and trust-worthiness in finance, something that I am proud to say is still alive and vibrant today. You can listen to my interview by Oxford academic @rachelbotsman here

Sadly, trust is a deeply cultural construct, and cannot be translated into an equation or contract. Different cultures have different approaches to trust. To be trusted, one needs to be non-possesive and cultivate a sense of detachment from money, even when dealing with it. One also needs to value relationships and reputation more than money and wealth. The Jains have mastered this craft over thousands of years.

Jain Accountants in the UK, like Pankaj Shah, Mina Shah or Bharat Dhanani are excellent role models for me in my research on trust and accountancy. Professional bodies do not directly engage with faith cultures and how they embrace trust, but this is a big loss, as there is a vast reservoir of experience here. Former Senior Partner at Lubbock Fine, Pankaj Shah is a person who embraces the fiduciary duty to clients as the best way to practice accountancy, and has found that he has never been short of clients as a result. Similarly, Bharat Dhanani was once asked by a client for a whole box of business cards - they wanted to tell their whole community about how honest his advice is. Meena Shah has built a global accounting firm through a professional and Jain approach to accountancy, and has never been short of work.

In my upcoming book on Inclusive and Sustainable Finance for Routledge, I speak about such practices from a diverse range of cultures and communities. I am excited to launch and promote it globally from September, at a time when the world urgently needs new leadership and direction in finance.