Practice of religious rites and accounting standards compliance overcome the decoupling of transparency in religious non-governmental Organizations

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to show that decoupling can be overcome by relying on religious rites such as prayer and legal norms such as certification. We have had interactions with several actors working in religious non-governmental Organizations (RNGO) and in the structure that oversees the actions of RNGOs. These interactions were made with seventy-five people involved in RNGOs in Burkina Faso and with six people involved in the sector's regulatory structure of NGOs, associations and foundations. The results of our study show that the practice of prayer and the certification of financial statements are necessary mechanisms to overcome decoupling in RNGOs. The practice of religious rites contributes to the transformation of the individual, making him more able to respect religious and legal rules according to the degree of receptivity of the individual.