Akuntansi dalam Sehelai Kain: Nilai Tradisi Mata Uang Kampua dalam Perspektif Masyarakat Buton

Abstract

This research aims to construct Nusantara cultural values to redefine accounting within a broader perspective, focusing on the exploration of the tradition of Kampua currency production during the Buton Sultanate. The study employs a qualitative approach grounded in the Nusantara paradigm, which emphasizes an integral view of reality while unifying religiosity and culture. Data were collected through semi-structured in-depth interviews with seven key informants and documentation studies. To ensure data quality and avoid bias, the collected data underwent a data reduction process beforehand, prior to being systematically analyzed to generate meaningful insights. The findings indicate that accounting is not merely a mechanistic technical procedure, but a social reality that lives and grows within inter-individual interactions. Kampua, a currency made of woven cloth, served as an economic transaction instrument whose management was strictly supervised by the sultanate authority. Its production process, exclusively performed by specialized weavers, represents the construction of noble cultural values within Buton society, encompassing honesty, trustworthiness, responsibility, mutual cooperation (gotong royong), and spiritual belief as a form of devotion to God. This study provides a theoretical contribution by demonstrating that accounting practices and internal control mechanisms can be deeply derived from local wisdom. These findings clarify that accounting, as reflected through the use of Kampua currency and the strict internal control system over its circulation, is a cultural product that positions spiritual and moral values as the primary foundation within traditional economic accountability systems.