Reviewed by Thomas N. Tyson St. John Fisher College
Tradition and Innovation for the Twenty-First Century brings together 13 of the 50 papers presented in August, 1992, at the Sixth World Congress of Accounting Historians in Kyoto, Japan and may represent Paul Garner’s final contribution to accounting literature. I was privileged to know Paul Garner personally and to receive two wonderful letters encouraging me to continue research in accounting history. Notwithstanding my respect for Paul and his dedication to accounting history, I am unable to recommend unequivocally this collection which is co-edited by Atsuo Tsuji and Paul Garner.
In their prefaces, Tsuji states that the selection criteria for inclusion were “regional factors and treated themes” [p. vii], while Garner notes similarly that these essays “show an unusually wide range of research and investigation” [p. x]. Thus, readers are forewarned that the collection is wide ranging and will include essays on disparate topics. In addition to thematic variation, however, essays by practitioners and new scholars contrast markedly from those by more renowned historians, especially in terms of organization structure and the extent of literature reviewed. Consequently, active and seasoned scholars, those most likely to acquire the collection, may be discomforted by these multiple dimensions of diversity. Readers who prefer more critical perspectives of accounting history will also be disappointed by the paucity of essays written in this venue.
The collection does contain a number of interesting and well-written pieces. For example, in a smoothly flowing introductory essay entitled “Accounting History and Public Policy,” Gar}’ Previts provides an overview of accounting history in the context of a constantly changing and politicized world. Tsunehiro Tsumori crafts another strong entry entitled “Development of a ‘Philosophy of Disclosure’ in Accounting Institutions of Japan.” Tsumori describes thoughtfully the impact of the Anglo-American and Franco-German accounting traditions on the historical development of accounting disclosure in Japan. Christopher Napier sustains his excellent scholarship with an essay on secret reserves in New Zealand. Unlike many accounting historians, Napier explains clearly the business environment to which the accounting issues he explores relate. Napier’s attention to the background story and historical context makes the essay much more intriguing and accessible.
The subtitle of the collection, “tradition and innovation for the twenty-first century,” intimated to me that a number of essays would address current historical debates or long-standing controversies in accounting history. Papers by Gormly and Wells, “Costing Activities: Alternative Views of History,” and Kataoka, “The Relationship between the Bookkeeping Systems of Pacioli and Schweicker,” fulfilled this expectation. However, most essays focus on disparate and regional issues. Once again, certain readers might be displeased in this regard.
Perhaps the collection’s most noticeable shortcoming is the absence of active editorial involvement. Given its diversity, readers would have benefited greatly from an introductory essay which summarized each paper and indicated the rationale for its inclusion. Alternatively, each essay could have been preceded by a short synopsis, or authors could have been asked to provide an abstract describing their essay’s scope and purpose. Unfortunately, because these aides are not furnished, readers must rely on an essay’s title or its author’s repute for guidance about content and perspective. In the case of unknown authors, readers must venture forth and hope the experience is worth the effort. A related concern is that biographical information about contributors lacks consistency and omits important details. In several cases the editors provide only the name and affiliation of an author while in others, they identify an author’s academic department but fail to mention their terminal degree, research interests, publication record, or teaching or practice specialty.
In summary, while there are a number of well-written essays that will interest new and seasoned accounting historians alike, the collection is too diverse, the quality of essays too variable, and the absence of editorial assistance too salient to produce a monograph which can be regarded as a notable contribution to accounting history literature.
