Accounting practices generally used in the informal sector: characterization of the micro stores in District Four of Medellín

Abstract

Through a research methodology with a qualitative and inductive focus, this research explored and defined the characteristics of the generally used accounting practices by store owners in the micro establishments of District Four of Medellin, with the aim of obtaining and consolidating concrete and empirical information of said sector, to move from intuition to a more ascertained and rigorous knowledge so as to be the basis for subsequent developments in a sector with great incidence at national level. To do this, and to achieve contextual knowledge of the study object, a description of the informal economic sector is made, and several definitions of economic, legal and accounting nature inherent to the topic are provided. Finally, it is concluded that neighborhood stores in District Four will not implement accounting practices as formal and rigorous as the ones proposed by the Simplified IFRS. On the contrary, for reasons of traditions, comfort and easiness, stores in this sector carry out a series of practices that, although lacking technical foundations, prove to be sufficient and are aligned with their needs. Additionally, there is a call to exalt the social nature of Public Accounting in the habitual situations of society in which knowledge is applied.