Loren A. Wenzel
MANKATO STATE UNIVERSITY

Stanley D. Tonge
UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA – DULUTH

and

Peter L. McMickle
MEMPHIS STATE UNIVERSITY

AN ANALYSIS OF THE TOWN OFFICER (1791-1815): THE EARLIEST AMERICAN TREATISE ON MUNICIPAL ACCOUNTING?

Abstract: Recent research has produced the earliest known treatise on Accounting written by an American. Samuel Freeman’s The Town Officer [1791] is significant in that it recommended double-entry fund accounting for municipalities. The paper analyzes and compares Freeman’s objectives of “a plain and regular Method” to modem mu-nicipal accounting concepts as articulated by the GASB. Additionally, the entries and the accounts recommended by Freeman are analyzed and compared to modern municipal accounting evidenced in current textbook material. These analyses show The Town Officer to be a significant contribution to accounting literature not only for its 1791 publication date, but also for the similarity of its content to present day municipal accounting objectives and requirements.

Accounting historians have continually searched for the first accounting books published in America. Bentley and Leonard [1934] list William Mitchell’s New and Complete System of Bookkeeping by an Improved Method of Double Entry, Philadelphia, 1796, as the first work on accounting by an American author. Potts [1976, p. 49] identified Mills’ 1878 book entitled Public Accounts … as “The first known American treatise dealing with public sector accounting.” Recent research [McMickle, Wenzel, and Jensen, 1986] has led to the discovery of The Town Officer, first published by Samuel Freeman in 1791. This previously unrecognized work which predates the aforementioned

The authors thank the two anonymous referees and Leo Ruggle for their helpful comments. We are also grateful to Colin Meier and Dianna Brandenburg for their assistance on this project.

books should be added to the list of America’s earliest writings on accounting.
Prior to its discovery in 1986, Freeman’s 1791 book entitled,

The Town Officer, or the Power and Duty of, Selectmen, Town Clerks, Town Treasurers, Overseers of the Poor, Assessors, Constables, Collectors of Taxes, Surveyors of High Ways, Surveyors of Lumber, Fence Viewers and other TOWN OFFICERS. As contained in the Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. With a Variety of Forms, For the use of Such Officers. To which are added, The Power and Duty of Towns, Parishes and Plantations. And a “plain and regular METHOD” to keep ACCOUNTS of the Expenditures of Monies voted by a TOWN; upon an inspection of which, the State of its FINANCES may at any time by known, (hereafter referred to as The Town Officer),

was not listed in any bibliography of American accountancy.1 A preliminary examination of The Town Officer first appeared in a working paper at Memphis State University in 1986 [McMickle, et al.]. An annotated bibliographic reference to Freeman’s work later appeared in The Origins of a Great Profession [McMickle and Vangermeersch, 1987, 67-73]. Finally, a brief review of the treatise and a detailed bibliography for each edition was presented in The Birth of American Accountancy [McMickle and Jensen, 1988]. Although the above sources all claimed Freeman’s 1791 work to be the first American treatise on municipal accounting, the authors are unaware of any prior effort to describe or analyze in detail Freeman’s “plain and regular METHOD” outlined in The Town Officer.

This paper is the culmination of an ongoing research project on The Town Officer. The study is limited to the examination of the one section concerning the keeping of town accounts. These accounts are analyzed and compared to current concepts and modern municipal accounting practices as evidenced in current textual material and GASB standards. Eight editions of this work were published. Based on a comparison of the 1793 edition to the 1791 edition, it was determined that the sections that dealt with town accounts were essentially identical. Access to the 1791 edition was limited to the American

1 This title is very descriptive; examination of the full title leaves little doubt concerning the contents of this work.

Antiquarian’s Society microfilm copy. Therefore, the 1793 edi-tion, available in hard copy, was used for a major portion of the analyses.
To gain a perspective of the significance of this work, a brief biography of the author is given in this paper. This is followed by a chronological review of all eight editions of this popular publication. Next, are detailed analyses of the accounts in Freeman’s “plain and regular Method” and their relevance to modern Municipal Accounting. Finally, some topics of historical significance to accounting for municipalities are examined in an attempt to gain further insight into the origin of accounting for municipalities.

SAMUEL FREEMAN, ESQ.

The author of The Town Officer, Judge Samuel Freeman, was born on June 15, 1743, the son of Judge Enoch Freeman. Samuel Freeman died in 1831 at the age of 88 [Drake, 1879; Wallace, 1968]. His birthright, it appears, was to be a public servant and a politician. He was a prolific writer who wrote and edited many works. A brief description of Samuel Freeman’s political career and publishing activity follows so that the reader may gain some perspective concerning his background and its possible relationship to his publishing activity.
Freeman zealously supported the American Revolution and was active in early revolutionary struggles. He became the Sec-retary of the Cumberland County (Maine) convention in 1774. In 1775 he was an “industrious and useful” member of the Pro-vincial Congress. Freeman’s political motivation and connec-tion, whether through his father or his own activity, were fur-ther evidenced in 1775 by his appointment as clerk to the newly reorganized court. He continued in this position for forty-five years. In 1775 Freeman was also appointed a Register of Probate in which capacity he served until he was appointed judge in 1804. He served as judge until 1820. His political activity included membership in the House of Representatives in 1776 and 1778. Freeman also served as Postmaster of Portland (Maine) from 1776 to 1805 [Drake, 1879].

2The Biographical Directory of the American Congress 1774-1971 was checked and there is no indication that Samuel Freeman was a member of the United States House of Representatives. It is assumed, therefore, that he was a member of the Maine legislature.

Freeman’s political activity did not prevent him from pub-lishing. In fact, his tenure in public office may have inspired him to publish as a way to educate the town officers concerning the responsibilities and obligations of local government. It is reasonable to assume that his efforts also provided information to citizens about the intricacies of exercising their rights in using local government. Some of his publications include: The Town Officer; “American Clerk’s Magazine” (1743-1831); The Massachusetts Justice (1803), of which there were eight volumes; and, “Probate Directory” (1803). He also edited the “Journal of Reverend Thomas Smith” published in 1821 [Drake, 1879].

CHRONOLOGY OF THE TOWN OFFICER

Freeman’s first edition of The Town Officer was published in 1791. It was the first in a series of editions to contain a section on accounting for the finances of a town. It contained 178 pages, 23 of which dealt with town accounts. Due to its popularity, eight editions were ultimately published between 1791 and 1815. A printing history of The Town Officer is presented in Exhibit I.

EXHIBIT 1
Printing History of Samuel Freeman’s The Town Officer
Total
Date Edition Pages
1791 1st 178
1793 2nd 232
1794 3rd 240
1799 4th 281
1802 5th 304
1805 6th 342
1808 7th 366
1815 8th 372
Printer/Publisher Place
Benjamin Titcomb Portland, ME
I. Thomas and E. T. Andrews Boston, MA
I. Thomas and E. T. Andrews Boston, MA
I. Thomas and E. T. Andrews Boston, MA
I. Thomas and E. T. Andrews Boston, MA
J. T. Buckingham/Thomas and Andrews Boston, MA J. T. Buckingham/Thomas and Andrews Boston, MA J. T. Buckingham/Thomas and Andrews Boston, MA

Source: Adapted with permission from The Birth of American Accountancy [McMickle, et al, 1988, p. 63].

3 Information concerning the location of various editions of The Town Officer and Freeman’s other works was obtained and is available in The National Union Catalog: Pre-1956 Imprints [Mansell, 1971, p. 120].

Freeman considered the fourth edition of The Town Officer, published in 1799, “… to be a very improved edition.” In addition to amending the law changes, he decreased the size of the “… part of the work which respects accounts, and which has been considered by some rather complex, is made more plain and concise, …. These improvements, and the consequent enlargement of the work, although it in some degree enhances the price, make it more valuable than any of the former editions” [Freeman, 1815, p. VI]. An important feature of Freeman’s 1799 fourth edition is that it is the first time he used dollars instead of pounds sterling in labeling the amounts.4 The section on keeping accounts for the town decreases in relative size from the first edition to the fourth edition, due to the use of illustrations in place of much of the narrative description. The size of the section on town accounts remained approximately the same from the fourth edition through the eighth edition.

The remainder of this paper will describe Freeman’s “plain and regular METHOD” and evaluate whether this first book on keeping town accounts resembles the method used by today’s municipalities. It is appropriate to begin the evaluation with a comparison of modern “Objectives of Financial Reporting” for local governments articulated in Concept Statement No. 1 [GASB, 1987] and the “importance” of keeping town accounts as explained by Freeman.

FREEMAN’S “plain and regular METHOD” Objectives of Financial Reporting

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) states in part in Concept Statement No. 1 that:

1. Financial reporting should assist in fulfilling government’s duty to be publicly accountable and should enable users to assess that accountability. Fi-nancial reporting should:

(a) Provide information to determine whether current-year revenues were sufficient to pay for current year services.
(b) Demonstrate whether resources were obtained and used in accordance with the entity’s legally

4 The use of pounds sterling provides evidence of English influence on the development of municipal accounting practices in America. An interesting per-spective on the evolution of municipal accounting in England is supplied by D. M. Livock [1965] in “The Accounts of the Corporation of Bristol: 1532 to 1835.”

adopted budget, and demonstrating compliance with other finance-related legal or contractual requirements. (c) Provide information to assist users in assessing the services, efforts, costs and accomplishments of the governmental entity.

2. Financial reporting should assist users in evaluating the operating results of the governmental entity. Fi-nancial reporting should:

(a) Provide information about sources and uses of financial resources.
(b) Provide information about how it financed its activities and met its cash requirements.
(c) Provide information necessary to determine whether its financial position improved or deteriorated as a result of the year’s operations [GASB, 1987, p. 25].

As one of the great objects of government is to guard and defend the property of its subjects; as no publick (sic) measures engage the attention of a people more than those which affect publick use; and as nothing will ensure a cheerful acquiescence in such measures but an assurance that the monies thus taken from them are applied to the uses for which they were designed; it is of importance to all communities, that proper regulations should be established, whereby it may clearly appear, that such monies are faithfully expended, and regularly accounted for. Too much care cannot be taken in this business, as it relates to the raising and applying of taxes required for the support of the government, and the exigencies of a state; and it must be happy for the people of any state to have such a plan established, as shall provide effectual checks upon the several officers through whose hands their monies are to pass; and as shall exhibit at any time, such a state of the expenditures thereof, as will satisfy every reasonable person who may inspect the same.
Whether such a plan has been adopted, or is wanted in this state or not, is not for me to enquire (sic). My design is to form a regular plan for keeping the accounts of a Town, by which its inhabitants may at any time know whether the monies which they may have voted at any meeting, be raised, collected, and expended, agreeably to their views in voting them [Freeman, 1793, p. 170].

It becomes readily apparent upon examination and com-parison of Concept Statement No. 1, “Objectives of Financial Reporting” [GASB, 1987] and Freeman’s description of the importance of keeping town accounts and subsequent regulations, that there exist striking similarities between the articulated purposes of municipal accounting in 1987 and 1791. Certainly, while Freeman’s expression of the objectives may be slightly different from the GASB’s, the substance and the content of both appear to focus on accountability, reporting, and control.
To meet the above stated objectives, Freeman enumerated seven regulations. Regulations one through five state, in part, that subsequent to a vote at a town meeting to raise money, the town clerk should make out two lists of accounts expressing the sums and the purposes of raising the money. He should give one list to the selectmen (representatives) and one to the assessor. These lists would be used to compare collections to appropriations. The assessor would certify to the selectmen and treasurer the money and the amounts charged to the collectors.5 The regulations basically provide for control over the money appropriated. Procedures are also set out to account for the money appropriated but not expended. An interesting footnote suggests that “an estimate of the sums proposed to be raised, should be laid before the town, that the town may have opportunity to consider the same. …” [Freeman, 1793, p. 171]. This statement implies that a budget be presented to the citizens of the town for their approval.

Regulations six and seven state that at every annual meet-ing the selectmen should present to the town the state of their accounts where the accounts could be compared to the monies voted. These regulations, while specifically calling for annual reports, also indirectly paved the way for an audit of the mu-nicipal accounts and the financial affairs of the town. Another interesting footnote recommends that a law be passed that pro-vided for a Town Accountant to keep the financial records of the town rather than the selectmen, whose responsibility for the accounts was previously stated. It appears that Freeman had second thoughts about the selectmen’s ability or time to keep accounts, thus the recommendation for a Town Accountant.

5 Freeman was recommending three lists in the eighth edition. The third list would be passed to the treasurer. The collectors would then certify the collections to the selectmen, assessor, and treasurer. Each would have his own list of sums and purposes” to which collections could be compared.

Freeman’s regulations, which were general in nature and pro-vided system controls, laid the foundation on which Freeman built his specific set of rules of accounting for the monies voted by the town.

Freeman’s suggested rules were present in the first three editions, 1791, 1793, and 1794, of The Town Officer, where he verbalized the prescribed accounting treatment shown in the examples that followed. In an effort to keep subsequent editions to a manageable size, he omitted this section and showed the examples directly following the regulations. This practice started with the fourth edition in 1799 and remained in effect through the eighth edition published in 1815.

The System of Town Accounts

The first and second editions of The Town Officer [1791 and 1793] explained the entries that were to be made before exhibiting the accounts. It is clear upon examination of these accounts that Freeman was aware of the fiduciary nature of government. His purpose in describing municipal accounting was to enable better control and to assure that the monies voted by the town and collected through taxes were expended for the purposes for which they were intended.

Freeman’s “plain and regular METHOD” outlined in the 1791 and 1793 editions consisted of several Forms and fifteen Accounts. The Forms are listed in Exhibit 2. Forms I-III were analogous to modern day single column journals. In fact, by the eighth edition, the forms were called journals. Forms IV and VI were in the nature of charge and discharge financial reports.

EXHIBIT 2

Forms Recommended by Freeman’s The Town Officer

Number Title

I Account of monies voted by the Town
II Assessors’ Certificate of the amount of monies assessed Account of orders drawn by Selectmen on the Town Treasurer
IV Exhibit of a Collector’s bill
V Selectmen’s certificate to the Treasurer of the sums allowed to a Collector for his commission
VI State of the Town’s finances, as exhibited to the Town by the Selectmen

Wenzel, Tonge and McMickle: An Analysis of The Town Officer 65
The fifteen Accounts recommended by Freeman are pre-sented in Exhibit 3. It should be noted that the account order and titles were somewhat different by the eighth edition, how-
EXHIBIT 3 Accounts Recommended by Freeman’s The Town Officer

Number Title

I Monies voted by the Town
II Monies assessed
III G. W., Collector
IV D. N., Collector
V Monies belonging to the Town, unappropriated
VI Expenditures of monies voted for the support of schools
VII Expenditures of monies voted for the support of the poor
VIII Expenditures of monies voted for building a school house
IX Expenditures of monies voted for payment of accounts allowed by the Town
X Expenditures of monies voted for contingencies
XI Expenditures of monies voted for commissions of the Treasurer and Collector
XII Orders drawn by Selectmen upon the Town Treasurer
XIII Treasurer of the Town
XIV Expenditures of monies voted for the building of a work house
XV Expenditures of monies voted for the building of a bridge

ever, they operated essentially the same way. A graphic overview of Freeman’s recommended accounts and his “plain and regular” system is presented in Figure 1. This illustration was created by the authors to enhance the detailed narrative discussion of the operation of the Forms (Exhibit 2) and Accounts (Exhibit 3) presented next.
Authorized expenditures, based on the town budget, were recorded on Form I, “Accounts of monies voted by the Town.”

Note The account numbers in Figure 1 correspond directly to those given in Exhibit 3; however, the account titles in Figure 1 are an abbreviated form of the titles given in Exhibit 3. Additionally, the debit and credit entries are a combination of Freeman’s and current terminology in an attempt to emphasize the similarities of Freeman’s “METHOD” to modem practice.

The Selectman (or the town accountant, if the laws and finances allowed) made the following entry.

cct# Dr Cr
I XX
XX
VI XX
VII XX
VIII XX
DC XX
X XX
XI XX
XII XX
XIV XX
XV XX

Abbreviated account titles Monies voted by the town
Expenditures on monies voted for:
the support of schools
the support of the poor
building a school house
payment of accounts of the town
contingencies
commissions for Treas/Collect
orders drawn by selectmen
building of work house
building of a bridge

While the accounts were entitled Expenditures, their primary purpose was to record the budgeted appropriations. Under cur-rent practices, the entry would be made as follows:

Dr Cr
Fund Balance xx
Appropriations xx

In contrast to Freeman’s use of the general ledger for each type of authorized expenditure, current practice is to credit the de-tails of the appropriations to subsidiary ledger accounts.

The accounts and forms suggest that property taxes were the primary source of revenues. These taxes were assessed in advance and initially recorded on Form II, Assessor’s Certificate of amount of monies assessed. The assessed taxes were entered as:

Abbreviated account title Acct # Dr Cr
Monies Assessed II xx
Monies voted by the town I xx

Freeman’s entry for Monies assessed served essentially the same purpose as the entry for estimated revenues in modern municipal accounting. Under current practice the entry would be:
Dr Cr
Estimated Revenues xx
Fund Balance xx

While towns in Freeman’s period had one main revenue source, today most municipalities have multiple revenue sources. These multiple revenues are debited to subsidiary ledger accounts.
After posting the above entries, Account I, Monies voted by the town, had a zero balance. While not discussed, presumably any difference between the monies voted (Form I) and the mon-ies assessed (Form II) would have to be posted to Account V. Account V, while entitled Unappropriated town monies, was essentially the Fund Balance. Thus, the end result would be the same as current practice where the initial Fund Balance is the difference between estimated revenues and appropriations.

Account I, Monies voted by the town, could also be consid-ered as a single budgetary control account containing a debit for appropriations and a credit for estimated revenues. This differs only in form from the current practice where separate control accounts are utilized for estimated revenues and appropriations, both of which are supported by subsidiary ledgers.
The principal debit to Account II, Monies assessed, was for current assessed taxes, as discussed above. The account was also debited for uncollected taxes from prior years, as follows:

Abbreviated account title Acct # Dr Cr
Monies assessed II xx
Unappropriated town monies V xx

The uncollected prior years taxes were in the Unappropriated town monies account as a result of a previous year end closing entry, as discussed later.
Once all of the debits were posted to Account II, the entire balance was charged to the various collectors with the following entry:

Abbreviated account title Acct # Dr Cr
G. W. collector III xx
D. N. collector IV xx
Monies assessed II xx

Thus, Account II is analogous to today’s taxes receivable control account with Accounts III and IV representing the subsidiary accounts.
Each collector’s tax receipts were delivered to the Treasurer and recorded as follows:

Abbreviated account title Acct # Dr Cr
Treasurer of the town XIII xx
G. W. collector III xx
D. N. collector IV xx

Additionally, the collectors made a periodic accounting to the Selectmen on Form IV, Exhibit of Collector’s Bill. Finally, at the end of each year the balance of each collector’s account, repre-senting uncollected taxes, was closed to the Unappropriated town monies Account.

Specific expenditures approved by the town Selectmen were recorded on Form HI, Orders drawn by Selectmen on the Town Treasurer. Form III was the source document for debts to the various Expenditure Accounts VI, VII, etc. For example, the approval of a specific expenditure for schools would be entered as follows:

Abbreviated account title Acct # Dr Cr
Expenditures for support of school VI xx
Orders drawn by Selectmen XII xx
Today this event would be recorded as:
Encumbrances xx
Reserve for encumbrances xx

Therefore, Freeman’s Account XII served the same purpose as today’s Reserve for Encumbrance. Furthermore, the Expenditure Accounts contained both the appropriations and the approved expenditures. Current practice, as shown above and in earlier discussion, is to record the appropriations and encumbrances in separate accounts. Form notwithstanding, the purpose then, as it is today, was to provide a control over appropriations to

Abbreviated account title Acct # Dr Cr
Orders drawn by Selectmen XII xx
Treasurer of the town XIII xx

At the end of each year, the uncommitted appropriates, as represented by the balances in the various Expenditure Accounts VI, VII, etc., were closed to the Unappropriated town monies (Account V). As a result, the balance in Account V was equal to the balance in Treasurer of the town (Account XIII). That is, based on current terminology, the cash account was equal to the Fund Balance and the cash was available for the following year’s operations.

COMPARISON OF TOWN ACCOUNTS TO CURRENT PRACTICE

In summary, Freeman recommended the use of fifteen Ac-counts, two of which resembled subsidiary accounts. Even though Freeman did not use the term Fund, the General Fund in modern municipal accounting is similar to the “plain and regular METHOD” described by Freeman in 1791. The General Fund is one of seven types of funds recommended by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board [Hay and Wilson, 1991, p. 17]. The General Fund of a governmental unit is made up of the resources available to carry on the unit’s operating activities. It is an independent fiscal and self-balancing accounting entity used to account for the flow of these resources. The General Fund entity contains, as a minimum, asset, liability, surplus (fund-balance), revenue and expenditure accounts. It also contains budgetary accounts for estimated revenue and appropriations.

By comparison, Freeman’s accounts were also used to ac-count for the resources segregated to carry on the town’s operating activities. Freeman’s “plain and regular METHOD” also contained revenue, surplus, expenditure, and asset accounts. For example, Account II, Monies Assessed, and Account XIII, Treasurer of the Town, represent Taxes Receivable and Cash, respectively. Account XII, Orders drawn by Selectmen, while analogous to Reserve for Encumbrances, essentially serves the same purpose as a liability account. Thus, Freeman’s “plain and regular METHOD”, while similar to modern day municipal accounting, was not as elaborate and required fewer entries.

Additionally, Freeman recommended the use of double-en-try accounting on the modified accrual basis. Revenues were recorded when available and measurable (Form II) and expenditures were recognized when incurred and measurable (Form III). The “plain and regular METHOD” contained budgetary accounts for estimated revenues, appropriations, and described the concept of encumbrances. It is remarkable that a book written in 1791(1793) so closely describes contemporary accounting practices for municipalities.

SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS

The purpose of The Town Officer was to propagate a knowledge of the laws of government to both the public servants and the citizenry of Massachusetts because, “Perhaps the evils exist-ing in society from an inattention to its laws, arise more from the want of knowing them, than from the want of a disposition to observe them:

And when it is considered, that everyone who sus-tains an office is not able to furnish himself with the laws at large, … it is not to be wondered at that a neglect of them should any where prevail [Freeman, 1815, p. 3].

The significance of The Town Officer to accounting histori-ans and accountants in general is that this may very well have been the first American book that addressed accounting for a governmental entity of any type. The title clearly states that part of the content of The Town Officer is devoted to “… a plain and regular METHOD to keep ACCOUNTS of the EXPENDI-TURES of MONIES voted by a TOWN; upon an inspection of which, the State of its FINANCES may at any time be known.” [Freeman, 1793, p. 170]. The title not only states its purpose as accounting for the governmental entity of a town, but also that the accounts should be in such order as to provide for an audit or an inspection such at that the financial condition of the town may be determined at any time.

Freeman recognized the fiduciary relationship of govern-ment to its citizens in his opening paragraph of the section on town accounts. This section was quoted in full above, therefore it will not be repeated here. Few differences exist between the modern General Fund and Freeman’s “plain and regular METHOD.” The entries he recommended, although fewer, were essentially modified accrual basis accounting. Although the term Fund is not mentioned, Freeman’s method was self balancing to the extent that assets (Treasurer’s cash, Account XIII) would equal Fund Balance (Account V, Monies Unappropriated) at the end of the accounting period. He made provision in the accounts for a budget (Estimate) and for an extraordinary amount of control over the town monies. With the system recommended by Freeman, an interested party could tell if the appropriations and the assessments were collected. Freeman also recommended that separate accounts be kept for specific expenditures. Finally, there are two places in The Town Officer where he recommended the audit of the town accounts. He states, “… [a] committee of the town as may be appointed to examine and adjust said accounts” [Freeman, 1793, p. 192]. Another reference to audit is made in the following footnote, “The treasurer’s account should be settled by the selectmen, and settled annually, previous to the March or April meeting” [p. 193]. The significance of the first edition of The Town Officer is evident, as it was one of the first publications, if not the first, on municipal accounting in America.

SUMMARY AND CONCLUDING REMARKS

Judge Samuel Freeman’s The Town Officer was one of the most useful books to eighteenth century Americans. It provided civil servants with a handbook of duties and power. It informed the citizens of their rights and responsibilities under the law; indeed, one of its stated purposes was to protect the public by imparting upon them certain knowledge of the law of the time. Later editions also included the Constitution of the United States as well as that of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. However, the main purpose of this paper is to examine The Town Officer for its contributions to municipal accounting. It appears that Freeman’s concept of town accounts resembles that of the modern day General Fund. His method was complete concerning the idea of the fiduciary role of government when accounting for its citizens’ monies. Freeman recommended annual audits and provided for budgetary control. That many of Freeman’s recommendations still pervade modern municipal accounting proves it to be a significant writing in the early history of American accountancy.

Future Research

The eight editions of Freeman’s The Town Officer covered the period from 1791 to 1815. The book previously recognized as the first treatise on municipal accounting in America was published in 1878 [Potts, 1976]. Therefore, there appears to be a 63 year “gap” in the literature dealing with municipal account-ing in America. Accounting historians should seek to fill this void through further research to discover previously undiscov-ered treatises on municipal accounting published between 1815 and 1878.

Finally, two questions are implied by the fact that Freeman was one of the first to discuss the importance of accountability for public “monies”. First, were Freeman’s recommendations for annual audits of municipal accounts ever implemented? Second, did Freeman’s description contribute to the formalization of keeping and/or auditing municipal accounts in Maine, New England, or the United States?

REFERENCES

Bentley, H. C. and R. S. Leonard, Bibliography of Works on Accounting by Ameri-can Authors, New York: Augustus M. Kelley (1934), Reprint by Sentry Press (1970).
Drake, F. S., Dictionary of American Biography, Boston, MA: Osgood & Co. (1879).
Freeman, S., The Town Officer, Portland, ME: Benjamin Titcomb, AAS Copy, Microfilm (1791).
, The Town Officer, 2nd edition, Boston, MA: Thomas and Andrews (1793).
, The Town Officer, 3rd edition, Boston, MA: Thomas and Andrews, AAS Copy (1794).
, The Town Officer, 4th edition, Boston, MA: Thomas and Andrews, AAS Copy (1799).
, The Town Officer, 8th edition, Boston, MA: Thomas and Andrews (1815).
Governmental Accounting Standards Board, Codification of Governmental Ac-counting and Financial Reporting Standards, Stamford, CT: GASB (1990).
, Concept Statement No. 1, Objectives of Financial Reporting, Stamford, CT: GASB (1987): i-iii.
Hay, L. E. and E. R. Wilson, Accounting for Governmental and Nonprofit Entities, Homewood: Irwin (1992): 4-54.
Kennedy, L. F., Biographical Directory of the American Congress 1774-1971, Washington: U.S. Printing Office (1971).
Livock, D. M., “The Accounts of the Corporation of Bristol: 1532-1835,” Journal of Accounting Research, Vol. 3, No. 1 (Spring 1965): 86-102.
Mansell, The National Union Catalog: Pre-1956 Imprints, London: Mansell Infor-mation/Publishing Limited Vol. 184 (1971): 120.
McMickle, P. L. & Jensen, P. H., The Birth of American Accountancy, New York: Garland Publishing (1988): 62-71.
, & Vangermeersch, R. G., The Origins of a Great Profession, Memphis, TN (1987): 69-73.
, Wenzel, L. & Jenson, P., “The Town Officer: The Earliest American Work on Municipal Accounting,” Memphis, TN (1986): Working Paper
Series WPS-12, Memphis State University. Mills, E. S., Public Accounts with Practical Suggestions for Keeping Them, and for
Making Examinations, Settlements, Annual Financial Statements, and Official
Reports, St. Paul: The Pioneer Press Company (1878). Potts, J. H., An Analysis of the Evolution of Municipal Accounting to 1935 with
Primary Emphasis on Developments in the United States, Doctoral Dissertation, University of Alabama (1976). Shipton, D. K. & Mooney, J. E., National Index of American Imprints, 1:A-M,
Worcester, MA: American Antiquarian’s Society and Barre Pub. (1969). Wallace, W. S., A Dictionary of North American Authors Deceased before 1950,
Toronto: Ryerson, Reprint Gale Research Co., Detroit (1968).