Accounting education in Britain during the early modern period

Abstract

British-based studies of the education of aspiring accountants have principally confined attention to developments following the formation of professional bodies. This paper examines educational provision during the early modern period which broadly coincides with the rapid commercial expansion and early industrialisation that took place in Britain between 1550 and1800. It reveals institutional and pedagogic innovations designed to meet the knowledge requirements of aspirant accountants, bookkeepers and others seeking a knowledge of accounting techniques. Also, the gendered male orientation of teaching institutions and instructional texts in accounting is shown not to have entirely excluded women from acquiring knowledge of the accounting craft.accounting, accounting history, accounting literature, double-entry bookkeeping, education, women,

Manzoni’s sixteenth-century ‘Quaderno Doppio’: The evolution of accounting education towards modern times

“…As a ‘branch of a branch’ of enquiry, the history of accounting education has a noticeably small presence in the accounting literature. With respect to accounting historians, it is ‘not yet the subject of significant study’ (Edwards, 2011a: 37). It is even less evident in the accounting education literature: a series of reviews of publications in the leading accounting education journals (Apostolou et al, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017) found that among the numerous themes appearing in those publications, a historical perspective on accounting education is marginal, not present in all the journals, and it is almost non-existent if the focus is on the period before the nineteenth century.…”

The advent of double-entry-based costing practices in the British engineering industry: Ransomes of Ipswich, 1856–1863

“…Accounting texts published in Britain up to and during the industrial revolution period (c.1780c.1850) focused, in the main, on bookkeeping techniques, be they single entry or double entry, and the periodic preparation of financial statements based on the content of those records (Edwards 2011;Edwards 2016). The general focus of mid-nineteenth century accounting texts, therefore, was financial accounting rather than cost accounting (e.g.…”

Review of periodical literature published in 2011

“…The sample data used came from the seventeenth century, and the authors find that gentry families had the option of apprenticeship rather than a university education, especially for younger sons. Edwards finds that training in accounting and bookkeeping was largely a male preserve until the eighteenth century. Accountancy skills were required for commerce or household accounts.…”

“…Lee examines the records of the Scottish accounting firm Paul and Mackersy, thus revealing the inner workings of one of the leading training firms in the early period of Scottish public accountancy. Edwards examines the educational provision available to aspiring bookkeepers, accountants, and clerks in the period prior to the formation of professional accounting bodies. His article also includes a useful appendix detailing accounting works published in Britain between 1543 and 1800.…”