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The development of industrial accounting in Britain and France before 1880: a comparative study of accounting literature and practice1

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  • Trevor Boyns
  • John Richard Edwards
  • Marc Nikitin

Abstract

This paper sets out to examine the development, in Britain and France prior to 1880, of industrial accounting, defined for the purposes of this paper as the practice of cost calculation within an accounting system based on double entry bookkeeping. Similarities and differences between the two countries in regard to the development of an appropriate accounting literature and accounting practice are identified, and various explanations for the findings are explored. A close link is found to exist between the timing of the process of industrialization and the development of industrial accounting in each country, but it is suggested that economic factors alone do not provide a full explanation for the similarities and differences observed.

Suggested Citation

  • Trevor Boyns & John Richard Edwards & Marc Nikitin, 1998. "The development of industrial accounting in Britain and France before 1880: a comparative study of accounting literature and practice1," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(3), pages 393-437.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:euract:v:6:y:1998:i:3:p:393-437
    DOI: 10.1080/713764730
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. NEIL McKENDRICK, 1970. "Josiah Wedgwood and Cost Accounting in the Industrial Revolution," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 23(1), pages 45-67, April.
    2. repec:dau:papers:123456789/9285 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Hoskin, Keith W. & Macve, Richard H., 1986. "Accounting and the examination: A genealogy of disciplinary power," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 11(2), pages 105-136, March.
    4. Miller, Peter & Hopper, Trevor & Laughlin, Richard, 1991. "The new accounting history: An introduction," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 16(5-6), pages 395-403.
    5. Alfred D. Chandler, 1969. "Strategy and Structure: Chapters in the History of the American Industrial Enterprise," MIT Press Books, The MIT Press, edition 1, volume 1, number 0262530090, April.
    6. Bernard Colasse & Romain Durand, 1994. "French Accounting Theorists of the Twentieth Century," Post-Print halshs-00667506, HAL.
    7. Hopper, Trevor & Armstrong, Peter, 1991. "Cost accounting, controlling labour and the rise of conglomerates," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 16(5-6), pages 405-438.
    8. Jones, Haydn, 1985. "Accounting, Costing, and Cost Estimation in Welsh Industry," University of Chicago Press Economics Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780708308820, Febrero.
    9. Miller, Peter & O'Leary, Ted, 1987. "Accounting and the construction of the governable person," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 12(3), pages 235-265, April.
    10. Miller, Peter & Napier, Christopher, 1993. "Genealogies of calculation," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 18(7-8), pages 631-647.
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    Cited by:

    1. Santos-Cabalgante, Beatriz & Fidalgo-Cerviño, Esther & Santos-Cebrian, Mónica, 2013. "The Origins of the Spanish Railroad Accounting Model: A Qualitative Study of the MZA's Operating Account (1856-1874)," MPRA Paper 66109, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    2. Nicolas Berland & Trevor Boyns, 2002. "The development of budgetary control in France and Britain from the 1920s to the 1960s: a comparison," European Accounting Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2), pages 329-356.
    3. Samuel JUBÉ, 2020. "Labour and international accounting standards: A question of social justice," International Labour Review, International Labour Organization, vol. 159(1), pages 95-115, March.
    4. Enrico Guarini & Francesca Magli & Alberto Nobolo, 2018. "Accounting for community building: the municipal amalgamation of Milan in 1873–1876," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1-2), pages 5-30, May.
    5. Gregory Wegmann & Johei Oshita, 2018. "A comparison between Japanese and French cost management-Contingency and institutional perspectives," Post-Print halshs-01961763, HAL.
    6. Tiziana Di Cimbrini, 2016. "L?Accounting nella dialettica tra scienza e tecnologia: il caso dei manuali sul mutuo soccorso in Inghilterra ed in Italia tra il XIX e XX secolo," CONTABILIT? E CULTURA AZIENDALE, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(1), pages 11-40.
    7. Malcolm Anderson, 1998. "Accounting History Publications 1997," Accounting History Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 8(3), pages 371-382.

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