Barbara D. Merino North Texas State University
Edwards, J. R., ed. British Company Legislation and Company Accounts, 1844-1974, 2 vols. (New York: Arno Press, 1980, 242 pp., $60.00).
Professor Edwards has done an excellent job in providing a useful working tool for accounting historians. His objective is to give historical researchers the means of identifying the origins of current regulatory provisions of the Companies Act of 1948, as amended by the 1967 and 1976 Acts. The first volume of this set is divided into three parts — (1) tables with respect to accounting and auditing regulation (2) the accounting and auditing require-ments of the companies acts, 1844-1976 and (3) comparable data related to railroads. Readers should find Table V, which traces comparable regulatory provisions related to annual returns and ac-counting and auditing to each of the relevant companies acts, especially useful.
Volume II contains reproductions of accounting and auditing pro-visions in selected companies acts or amendments to companies acts (1844, 1895, 1906, 1918, 1926, 1945, 1962) and excerpts from evidence given before the various legislative committees. The editor has attempted to provide a representative sample of this testimony, but, warns that the selection is by no means comprehensive. However, for accounting historians, who do not have access to legislative records, these two volumes should be extremely useful, especially for comparative studies of how regulatory standards have evolved in different countries.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales Library Catalogue, 1913. 2 vols. (New York: Arno Press, 1980, paginated by volume, $80.00).
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales Library Catalogue, 1937. (New York: Arno Press, 1980, paginated by volume, $45.00).
Anyone interested in the development of accounting during the last half of the nineteenth century will find the 1913 catalog invaluable. The catalog lists all items by both topic and author and includes a wide range of books, pamphlets, lectures and articles in the Institute library. For those interested in bookkeeping, the catalog is an especially rich source. Bookkeeping pamphlets and texts are arranged in chronological order, by language. The English language section is comprehensive; it begins with a pamphlet by John Mellis and the next 35 pages are devoted to texts published between 1588-1912.
The two volumes of the 1937 Catalogue are reprinted in one volume in the Arno series. Readers will find that Volume I of this catalog is less comprehensive, although updated, than the earlier work; but, Volume II “The Bibliography of Bookkeeping” is far more extensive, reflecting the Institute’s acquisition of banker Karel Petr Kheil’s 1,634 volume bookkeeping collection in December 1913. The first volume, arranged by both subjects and authors, includes references to selected books and pamphlets, but, unlike the earlier catalog it excludes articles and lectures. Limited selection provides some information about the perceived quality of books since the librarian attempted to include the “best’ books, regardless of age, on all subjects. The second volume contains a wealth of material for the accounting historian interested in bookkeeping. It starts with a 12 page listing of secondary sources, i.e., bookkeeping histories and bibliographies; the subsequent 201 pages contain a chronological listing of bookkeeping texts and pamphlets, starting with Pacioli’s 1494 text and continuing through 1937. There is a brief summary of each book and, for books, written prior to 1800, there is a bibliographic collation of various editions and translations. The Catalogues provide an excellent source for those interested in the history of bookkeeping.
Papers and Proceedings of the American Association of University Instructors in Accounting. 3 vols. (New York: Arno Press, 1980, irregular pagination, $99.00).
The three volumes contain the proceedings of the annual meetings of the American Association of University Professors from 1916 to 1925. The contents include papers presented, committee reports, minutes of business meetings, as well as occasional mem-bership rosters. Volume I [1916-1920] and Volume II [1921-1922] will be extremely useful to anyone examining the evolution of accounting education. The majority of the papers and committee re-ports deal with accounting instruction, i.e., curriculum standardization and correlation with other disciplines. Those interested in the history of taxation also will find some interesting material in these two volumes.
Volume III [1923-1925] reflects a broadening of the objectives of the association. While a significant percentage of the papers continue to deal with education, this volume contains a broader range of topics and indicates the concern of the association’s members with both development of accounting theory and practice. The three volumes should be in every university library; they add to our understanding of the “roots” of the academic accounting profession in the United States. They also may raise some interesting questions as to how far we have come.
