{"title":"The Casa de la Contratación de Indias and the application of double entry bookkeeping to the sale of precious metals in Spain, 1557–83","authors":"Rafael Donoso Anes","doi":"10.1080/09585209400000038","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09585209400000038","url":null,"abstract":"This paper is part of a broad project of research in the Archivo General de Indias in Seville, into the Spanish gold and silver trade in the second half of the sixteenth century, carried out for the Municipality of Seville (Donoso Anes, 1992). The present paper concentrates on the accounting treatment of the trade which, because of its importance, was rigorously controlled through a system of double entry bookkeeping. In this field the author has selected accounting information relative to sales of non-American silver, specifically from the mines of Guadalcanal and Aracena. Although these were greatly inferior in output to the American mines, their accounting treatment was similar. The author has therefore examined their principal account books, the journal and ledger, which provide an excellent example of the general scheme, used also in accounting for American silver.","PeriodicalId":252763,"journal":{"name":"Accounting, Business and Financial History","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130259583","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Archaeology of accounting and Schmandt-Besserat's contribution","authors":"R. Mattessich","doi":"10.1080/09585209400000033","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09585209400000033","url":null,"abstract":"The publication of Denise Schmandt-Besserat's book Before Writing (1992, vols I and II) is the occasion for first reviewing her archaeological work (see Part I), and then interpreting and commenting on it from an accountant's point of view, emphasizing further evidence that a kind of double entry recording existed 5,000 years ago (see Part II). Schmandt-Besserat recognized that ‘tokens’ (small clay counters) constitute an accounting system, widely used in the Near East from about 8,000 BC to 3,000 BC, that existed for five millennia. She also drew parallels between the shapes of the tokens and those of the first signs of writing, establishing accounting as the prerequisite and impetus to writing and abstract counting. A third part offers (in addition to the notes for Parts I and II) a summary of the ‘Stages in the Evolution of Accounting and Symbolic Representation in the Prehistoric Middle East’ (Appendix A) and of ‘Major Steps and Publications Toward an Archaeology of Accounting’ (Appendix B), as well a...","PeriodicalId":252763,"journal":{"name":"Accounting, Business and Financial History","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"121603664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A true and fair view of position and results: the historical background","authors":"R. J. Chambers, P. Wolnizer","doi":"10.1080/09585209100000029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09585209100000029","url":null,"abstract":"Recourse to earlier legislation and to the constitutive documents of partnerships and companies in the early years of the nineteenth century suggests that the ‘true and correct view’ of the states of affairs expected in the companies legislation of 1844 and 1856 was to be given by the valuation of assets at up-to-date prices, and specifically at selling prices in the ordinary course of business.","PeriodicalId":252763,"journal":{"name":"Accounting, Business and Financial History","volume":"34 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116457179","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Pacioli's Tractatus: a note on a mystery and a review of some commentaries","authors":"C. Nobes","doi":"10.1080/09585209500000052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09585209500000052","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":252763,"journal":{"name":"Accounting, Business and Financial History","volume":"145 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126014096","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Growing pains of an indigenous accountancy profession: the Nigerian experience","authors":"R. Wallace","doi":"10.1080/09585209200000025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09585209200000025","url":null,"abstract":"With developing countries increasingly seeking to improve their accounting systems, a study of the development of the accountancy profession in one such country can contribute to the understanding of how other countries have tackled or hope to tackle the development of their own accountancy professions, especially if the study describes the issues and problems which arose as the accountancy profession was introduced. This paper describes the impact of colonialism, culture and some other internal forces on the development of the accountancy profession in Nigeria.","PeriodicalId":252763,"journal":{"name":"Accounting, Business and Financial History","volume":"26 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"127404688","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Accounting fragments stored in the Old Cairo Genizah","authors":"E. Michael","doi":"10.1080/09585209400000034","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09585209400000034","url":null,"abstract":"The object of this paper is to draw attention to the existence of a vast collection of eleventh- and twelfth-century fragments which reveal elements of bookkeeping systems used by Jewish bankers and merchants in Old Cairo. The author examines two selected fragments or sheets found at the end of the nineteenth century in a storeroom (genizah) of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo. The first fragment which is in the form of a journal is dated c. 1080. The second fragment recorded in 1134 is a four-page account listing both debits and credits. The author shows and analyses the form of the fragments and seeks evidence of the use of systems that were precursors of more advanced ones used by bankers and merchants in countries which were trading partners of Egypt.","PeriodicalId":252763,"journal":{"name":"Accounting, Business and Financial History","volume":"9 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132065525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Counting the accountants: a trial balance for 1911","authors":"D. Matthews","doi":"10.1080/09585209300000045","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09585209300000045","url":null,"abstract":"This article presents the results of a pilot study prior to a more extensive research project into the history of accountants in company management. It takes one Year - 1911 - and provides a statistical snapshot of the profession in terms of its size and its domination by the chartered accountants of the City of London. By 1911 the leading firms of today had already established their dominance although they did not have as big a share of the market. Only 7 per cent of accountants worked outside public practice but, regarding accountants’ role in management, just under 10 per cent of quoted companies had accountants on their boards of directors in 1911. The reasons for their appointment as directors included the fact that they were wealthy shareholders in their own right or were engaged in company promotion, but they were also put on the board to exploit their accounting expertise. In this latter context there is some evidence that their help was especially sought by companies in distress or involved in me...","PeriodicalId":252763,"journal":{"name":"Accounting, Business and Financial History","volume":"92 3-4","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132330725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Academic disdain? Economists and accounting in Britain, 1850–1950","authors":"C. Napier","doi":"10.1080/09585209600000054","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09585209600000054","url":null,"abstract":"It is well known that no equivalent of the German Betriebswirtschaftslehre (Business Economics) developed in Britain. British economists were relatively uninterested in the internal workings of organisations, and thus did not provide the same theoretical underpinnings to the early development of accounting that were achieved in several continental European Countries. This paper explores the reasons for such a failure.","PeriodicalId":252763,"journal":{"name":"Accounting, Business and Financial History","volume":"152 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"120894382","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The tithe rentcharge: a pioneer in income indexation","authors":"Geoffrey A. Lee","doi":"10.1080/09585209600000048","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09585209600000048","url":null,"abstract":"The Tithe Commutation Act 1836 converted church tithes in England and Wales from moduses, compositions and payments in kind to uniform rentcharges. It provided for indexation to reflect fluctuations in the prices of three grains. The object was to give the tithe-owners approximately the same money incomes as they would have expected under the old system, and tithepayers the same burden. This scheme was crippled by the collapse of agricultural prices after 1875. The First World War caused further disruption, and indexation was abandoned. The 1930s depression made tithes an intolerable burden on farmers, and after 1936 they were commuted to redemption annuities (abolished 1977) or the capital was redeemed.","PeriodicalId":252763,"journal":{"name":"Accounting, Business and Financial History","volume":"20 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"115939477","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Early nineteenth-century productivity accounting: the Locust Grove Plantation slave ledger","authors":"D. Barney, D. L. Flesher","doi":"10.1080/09585209400000046","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1080/09585209400000046","url":null,"abstract":"The University of Mississippi Archives houses a ledger used by the Locust Grove Plantation to record slave inventory and cotton harvest for the years from 1825 to 1844. This ledger provides daily harvest data, by slave, for those years. The ledger also lists the inventory of the plantation's slaves as of 1 January 1828, and their marriages, births and deaths. Locust Grove increased its inventory of slaves over the years 1825 to 1844 and sold few slaves. Correlation and regression analysis show that age was not related to picking productivity, while gender was related. Females were better pickers than males. Accounting is a product of its environment, and the environment in antebellum south Mississippi provided a need for a sophisticated record of worker productivity. Research evidence shows that plantation management used the slave ledger to manage by the numbers.","PeriodicalId":252763,"journal":{"name":"Accounting, Business and Financial History","volume":"45 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"1900-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"123218948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}