Some Reflections on the Writing of a General History of Accounting

“Trading Places”: A UK (and IFRS) Comment

“…16 SSAP 2 Disclosure of Accounting Policies came into effect for accounting periods starting on or after 1 January 1972 and was not superseded until FRS 18 Accounting Policies, effective for accounting periods ending on or after 22 June 2001. http://www.frc.org.uk/Our-Work/Codes-Standards/Accounting-and-Reporting-Policy/Standards-in-Issue/FRS-18-Accounting-Policies. Yamey (1981) has reminded us that Francis Bacon (often credited as the inaugurator of the scientific method) observed in 1620 in The New Organion [Book One]: For the previous "Recommendations" see Zeff (2009).…”

Costing for strategy development and analysis in an emerging industry: The Newcastle Upon Tyne Electric Supply Company, 1889–1914

“…The historical literature depicts the importance to accounting and costing of 'actors' (Yamey, 1981), 'change agents' (Boyns and Edwards, 1996), and key individuals and networks (McLean, 2013). During the Second Industrial Revolution, key players from different bodies of expertise, such as engineering and accounting, played significant roles in costing (Fleming, McKinstry and Wallace, 2000;McKinstry, 1999;McLean, 2013;McLean et al, 2015;McLean and Tyson, 2006).…”

“…The historical literature emphasises the important role of actors (Yamey, 1981), change agents (Boyns and Edwards, 1996) and key individuals and particular professions (McLean, 2013;McLean and Tyson, 2006) in accounting and costing. In the limited literature dealing with this topic in relation to the new industries of the Second Industrial Revolution, McKinstry (1999) notes that Albion Motors had an engineering-oriented culture and that the firm's costing system was based in the discipline of engineering rather than accounting; the research of Boyns et al (2004, p. 22) Thus, this research has two objectives:  First, to add to the limited literature relating to costing in the new industries of the Second Industrial Revolution by means of the presentation of a detailed case study of NESCo's costing for strategy development and analysis during the emergence phase of the company's life cycle, 1889 -1914  Second, to investigate the roles and importance of key individuals and professional groups in the generation of NESCo's costing information for strategy development and analysis.…”

The Dialogus de Scaccario (c.1179): The First Western Book on Accounting?

“…Edwards (1989, p. 56), for example, comments on British commercial capitalism from the start of the sixteenth century to the middle of the eighteenth century that ‘the rate of adoption of double‐entry book‐keeping was extremely slow’. Macve (1996) and Yamey (1981) both note the anomaly that although double‐entry was known from around 1500, it was not widely adopted in the Western world until the nineteenth century. Before this charge and discharge accounting was the dominant system, ‘the method of accounting employed by significant economic entries (i.e., landed estates, local authorities, and religious and educational institutions)’ (Edwards, 1996, p. 32).…”