Re: Accounting in Islam
If one were to use such logic, it would also rule out working in any North American company, as majority of the companies are involved with interest in one form or another.
I once did speak to a sheikh about it. My question was why only ignore working at a bank and not other companies where there's riba involved. To that I was told that banks, near-banks, and other such financial institutions are the ones that set or implement interest rates and directly have a lot to do with it. By working for such institutions, we would be supporting them. On the contrary, other companies are not directly involved, therefore, it is alright to work for other companies so long as they aren't directly involved in setting and dealing with interest.
The analogy that I was given was more or less that working at a bank is equivalent to working for a serial killer to load his gun. You know that he would be using it to harm other humans. Whereas, working for other companies not directly related to riba-based activities is working at a gunshop. People could be coming in purchase guns for hunting, fishing or other purposes.
Similarly, there's nothing wrong with growing and selling grapes; however, it may not be the best idea to be working for a liquor store.
I'm not the best individual when it comes to explaining things, but I hope it helps. :\