Vatican's 1 Billion Euro Off Balance Sheet [2015/7/19]

I was quite disturbed that Vatican had more than 1 billion Euros off books. Of course,

there is nothing wrong with off balance sheet items if they are used for legitimate reasons (Not Enron).

But this is the Vatican, where it is arguably ruled by people with very high morals. Anything

that raises hint of doubt or insinuation about questionable behavior should not have been tolerated.

After all, modern accounting was founded by Luca Pacioli, a monk, and early  ledgers

always contained religious formulas such as "in the name of the Holy Trinity" or in the

"Name of  God and Profit."

Hence, given the holy roots of modern accounting, Vatican's off balance sheet behavior

is quite shocking. Well, the mess is supposedly cleaned up but I hope that the Vatican

sets an example, after all the new pope Francis does seem to be more active in political

and economics.







From Snapshot Serengeti