James Ole Winjum, The Role of Accounting in the Economic Devel opment of England: 1500-1750
Center for International Education and Research in Accounting, 1972, 252 pp
Reviewed by Marc J. Epstein California State University, Los Angeles
Though Yamey, Edey, and Thomson provided an introduction and overview to the development of accountancy in England (Accounting in England and Scotland: 1543-1800, London: Sweet and Max well, 1963), no comprehensive study had been made of the develop ment of accounting in this period in England. Further, though the Sombart thesis is a well accepted notion, a rigorous test of that thesis had not been conducted. James Winjum successfully completes both of these tasks. He provides the reader with an analysis of historical material gathered during his research in England along with a comprehensive examination of the development of accounting in post medieval England. Central to the entire study is the test of the Sombart thesis that double-entry bookkeeping was “both a manifestation of the spirit of capitalism in its formative decades as well as a propulsive agency furthering a significant economic and cultural development.” Through an examination of extant account ing treatises and textbooks and merchant accounts of England (1500-1750), Winjum finds the proof necessary to support the thesis.
England was chosen for the study because Of the extended period of economic growth it saw beginning in 1500. The accounting treatises analyzed provided insight into the developing sophistication of the double-entry system and the uses of double-entry book keeping in commerce. Sombart found order and organization necessary for an enterprise to prosper. The order is derived from the double-entry system and the double-entry system provided an im petus for economic growth and acquisition. Through the quantification of business transactions, the double-entry system provided a rational order for the entrepreneur. Winjum demonstrates the significant role accounting played in the economic development of Europe in the Middle Ages.
Over the last few years, discussion has continued on the validity of the Sombart thesis. The contribution of this test of the thesis is obvious. It is also important to note the research methodology employed. Winjum’s study provides the results of extensive investigation into both treatises and original records and provides a thorough discussion of the previous support of the thesis by influential scholars. “Scissors and paste history” is clearly not being used here in this carefully researched study.
In previous years, numerous articles have been published summarizing various extant merchant journals of the Middle Ages. Win jum’s book binds all of this information about English accountancy (1500-1750) into a strong statement on the role of accounting in the economic development of capitalism.
The inclusion of account records of thirteen merchants and the East India Company proves to be of substantial value, The records of the East India Company provide a unique opportunity to discern the differences in business methods used by the joint stock companies and the individual merchant. Perhaps the primary difference was that the East India Company was interested in internal control in addition to the profit orientation of the individual merchant.
The book is a major contribution to the literature of accounting history generally and English economic and accounting history specifically. The reader would have been aided substantially by an index, but that is only a minor detraction. The book is highly recommended as evidence of quality accounting history research.
(Vol. 1, No. 3, p. 4, 1974)
