Subject. This article discusses the issue of relationship between the financialization of economy and accounting. Objectives. The article aims to describe the role of accounting in designing the profitability of the financial economy, in the interests of which the current accounting standards regimes (US GAAP and IFRS) operate. Methods. For the study, I used the dialectical method of scientific cognition, the method of collecting theoretical and statistical information, and analysis and synthesis, observation, and comparison. Results. The article finds that in 2021–2022, the operational profitability of the financial economy (financial and insurance activities) of the European Union was more than twice as high as the profitability of the real sector (industry, construction and market services). Similarly, in the USA, the operational profitability of the financial economy was 1.2–21.3 times higher than the operational profitability of non-financial industries (chemical, aluminum, construction, metallurgical and agricultural industries) throughout 2024 and Q1 2025. The article puts forward a hypothesis that modern accounting standards regimes (US GAAP and IFRS) contribute to the outflow of capital from the manufacturing (real) sector to the financial economy. Conclusions. In the scientific literature, many issues related to the role of accounting in economy are not thoroughly considered. The article assumes that accounting is a neutral technology that contributes to the efficient allocation of capital, however, this mechanism has not been adequately studied. The article identifies promising areas for the development of the research topic.
Keywords: financialization, accounting, financial economy, financial capital, financial system
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