The focus of this book is to discuss the emerging accounting, auditing and governance issues in Islamic financial institutions. However, before embarking on this, it is important to understand the principles, characteristics, development and challenges of Islamic financial institutions. Thus, this chapter will first discuss the principles and characteristics of Islamic financial institutions. Following this, the development and challenges of Islamic financial institutions will be explained. The chapter will also address the needs of Islamic accounting, Shariah governance and Shariah audit in Islamic financial institutions.