Creative Accounting and Generative Artificial Intelligence Advice as Reporting Gray Areas: Shar'i Trichotomy and Maqasid Criteria

Abstrak

This study aims to formulate the Trikotomi Syar'i and maqasid criteria for assessing creative accounting as a gray area in financial reporting, including when mediated by generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) advice. This normative-conceptual library research examines the Qur'anic text (QS. Al-Baqarah: 282), Islamic ethical principles (amanah, sidq, 'adl, and the prohibition of tadlis and gharar), and the classical hierarchy of maslahah (dharuriyyat, hajiyyat, tahsiniyyat) alongside contemporary literature on reporting ethics and GenAI. The findings formulate the Trikotomi Syar'i, which classifies financial reporting into three zones: Zone I (Legitimate Professional Judgment), Zone II (Creative Accounting as a Gray Area), and Zone III (Fraud). Five documented Zone II techniques are assessed using the maqasid hierarchy through the operational distinction between wasilah and hilah. The findings affirm that formal legality does not automatically guarantee shar'i validity, establishing the boundary of “permissible under standards, prohibited under maqasid.” GenAI advice is positioned as a contemporary wasilah that does not create a new zone, with the locus taklif remaining fully attached to the human subject. This study contributes theoretically by repositioning the gray area within the map of taklif and provides practical guidance for accountants, Sharia Supervisory Boards, and standard-setting regulators.