Financial management in the early Scottish motor industry

Abstract

This study examines financial management practice in the early Scottish motor industry to c. 1930, analysing the role it played in the industry's progress and ultimate decline. Three firms dominated the industry during this period, Argyll, Albion and Arrol Johnston, and financial management in each is examined in turn, leading to the conclusion that sound financial management helped sustain Arrol Johnston and Albion. In contrast, Argyll, potentially the largest player in the industry, but which failed, was substantially damaged by financial mismanagement. The paper concludes by suggesting that, during this period, financial management in firms, and the institutional support it received, were relatively unsophisticated.