So many controls; so little control: The case of Isaac Henderson, Navy Agent at New York, 1861-4

Abstract

The experience of one man, Isaac Henderson, provides the lens through which this study examines the operation during the Civil War of the federal expenditure control system of the USA. This system's requisitioning, disbursing and auditing activities cannot be disentangled from the patronage system and profiteering that inevitably accompany war. Surging activity levels brought on by the war only aggravated the existing weaknesses. Rigidities, redundancies and formalities within the Treasury Department delayed disbursement processing and the subsequent auditing of those disbursements. Clerks who approved disbursements also audited the same disbursements. The focus on appropriation accountingrather than on information for planning and control purposes -reflected the view that controls existed primarily to assure Congress and the public that money was spent in conformity with laws and regulations. Improper charges were sometimes intentionally placed against appropriations with available balances. Thus the most significant contribution of the federal expenditure control system may well have been to help legitimize wartime spending to Congress and the American people.

The profession of arms and the profession of accounting numbers – Accounting, the military and war: A review

“…Two articles address deployment of accounting from a different direction highlighting how, despite shortcomings with existing systems and controls, often little or no modifications are required. Mayer-Sommer (2010) shows how long-established Treasury expenditure control systems remained unaltered during the years of the American Civil War despite the greatly increased level of expenditure and the added stresses placed on systems. The priority was to ensure Congressional appropriations were being followed rigidly.…”

Surveying the landscape: The first 15 years of Accounting History as an international journal

“…In its earlier years, AH reflected an overwhelming dominance of accounting histories in private sector settings, although there has been substantial relative growth, especially in the last five years, of articles concerning the public sector (e.g. Potter, 1999;Black, 2001;Christensen, 2002;Donoso Anes, 2002;Hooper & Kearins, 2003;Marriott & Fowler, 2007;Funnell, 1997Funnell, , 2004Funnell, , 2008Burrows & Cobbin, 2009;Greer, 2009;Platonova, 2009;Cobbin & Burrows, 2010;Mayer-Sommer, 2010). However, this dichotomisation fails to encompass many of the nuances which have since emerged in the literature, and so a more detailed typology of organisations and institutions is instead provided to enhance understanding of the variety of research settings being progressively examined by accounting historians.…”

“…AH ’s authors have probed the military origins of the modern-day public sector audit (Funnell, 1997), the impact of naval experience on accounting in the penal colony of New South Wales (Scorgie & Reiss, 1997), and Soviet accounting developments in the World War II period (Djatej & Sarikas, 2009). Moreover, this theme was energised with a special issue of the journal on ‘Accounting and the Military’ (see Appendix 2), featuring five papers, all set in the nineteenth century, concerning the uses and roles of accounting in the American Civil War (Heier, 2010; Mayer-Sommer, 2010), the British Military (Cobbin & Burrows, 2010; Talbot, 2010), and the construction of defensive works in Canada (Bujaki, 2010).…”

Improving accounting and accountability in local governments: The case of the Tennessee Taxpayers Association

“…To expand the breadth of public sector literature, Accounting History has dedicated special issues to governmental accounting history. The first special issue covered accounting and the military (Bujaki, 2010; Cobbin and Burrows, 2010; Funnell and Chwastiak, 2010; Heier, 2010; Mayer-Sommer, 2010; Talbot, 2010). The second special issue addressed accounting and the State (Baker and Rennie, 2012; Buhr, 2012; Colquhoun and Parker, 2012; Cordery, 2012; Lai et al, 2012; Levant and Nikitin, 2012; Narayan, 2012; Sanchez-Matamoros and Hidalgo, 2012; Sharma et al, 2012; Sargiacomo et al, 2012; Vosslamber, 2012).…”