Reviewed by Mark Roberts Georgia State University
This book, in Spanish, was prepared for the Fourth Annual Con gress of the European Accounting Association held in Barcelona, Spain during April 13-15, 1981. It provides an overview of the his tory of Spanish accounting. Hernandez has collected the records of merchants, bankers and teachers in an effort to chronicle the origins and accounting developments of his country. He supports the approach of Karl Peter Kheil (1843-1908), a Czech, who be lieved that a complete understanding of accounting was unattain able without a sound knowledge of accounting history
Kheil compiled a list of twenty-eight Spanish professional busi-nessmen who maintained some accounting records during the six-teenth century (two of the more prominent were Bartolome Salva dor de Solorzano and Miguel Jeronimo de Santa Cruz). Few of these men wrote exclusively about accounting. In fact, most of the topics centered on mathematics and law with perhaps an article or chapter dedicated to accounting or bookkeeping. Accounting and calculation were often mutually exclusive fields in different parts of the Iberian Peninsula. In Spain, facets of accounting were often subsumed under various headings, including
1. Commercial Accounts
2. Theoretical and practical mathematics
3. Law (including administrative interpretations)
4. Spelling and mathematics
5. Accounting and bookkeeping
Many of these books and records are based on methods explained in Latin and indicated the use of double entry.
Traditionally, accounting was viewed as a part of mathematics and not worthy of serious consideration as a separate discipline. The Renaissance heralded the development of financial accounts as a part of commerce (instead of a sub-discipline of mathematics). Slowly it was realized that maintaining financial records was an integral part of daily business affairs. In 1549, Mario Pardo de Figueroa persuaded some of the merchants of his day to record their accounts according to the double entry method, as explained
136 The Accounting Historians Journal, Spring, 1985
by Bartolome Salvador de Solorzano, in order “to protect them selves from fraud and to stay out of jail.”
An inherent characteristic of Spanish attitudes is individualism. Records and notes from early Spanish accountants offer individual insights into commerce and lifestyle as well as accounting tech niques. This spirit of voluntad, coupled with the Spanish regional loyalties and diversities, explains why the serious study of Spanish accounting history is of only recent origin
Hernandez presents a very well documented and scholarly work that sheds insight into the nature of Spanish accounting history. The work is also very readable and never becomes overbearing or pedantic; his aim is to give the reader an overview of the main contributors and their disciples. He carefully notes that there is still a great deal to document, and that the next few years should pro duce not only more information on Spanish accounting history, but also history in the making. There is an extensive bibliography of books and other sources which should be helpful to those wishing to conduct research.
