Accounting History Page
Why Study
Accounting History?
The
history of accounting is as old as civilization, key to important phases of
history, among the most important professions in economics and business, and
fascinating. Accountants participated in the development of cities,
trade, and the concepts of wealth and numbers. Accountants invented writing,
participated in the development of money and banking, invented double entry
bookkeeping that fueled the Italian Renaissance, saved many Industrial
Revolution inventors and entrepreneurs from bankruptcy, helped develop the
confidence in capital markets necessary for western capitalism, and are central
to the information revolution that is transforming the global economy.
There are no household names among the accounting innovators; in fact, virtually no names survive before the Italian Renaissance. It took archaeologists to dig up the early history and scholars from many fields to demonstrate the importance of accounting to so many aspects of economics and culture. The role of accountants in the ancient world is coming into clearer focus with new archaeological discoveries and innovative interpretations of the artifacts. It is now evident that writing developed over 5,000 years--by accountants. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of double entry bookkeeping. It was central to the success of Italian merchants, necessary to the birth of the Renaissance. Industrial Revolution firms required accountants to provide the information necessary to avoid bankruptcy and their role developed into a profession. Big business required capital markets that depended on accurate and useful information. This was supplied by what became an accounting profession. Today, a global real-time integrated information system is a reality, suggesting new accounting paradigms. Understanding history is needed to develop the linkages to predict this future.
Other Stuff I’m Doing: See my web pages: garygiroux.com
giroux@tamu
Books in Progress
by Gary Giroux: Business Scandals,
Corruption, and Reform: An Encyclopedia (available in July 2013) from Greenwood.
Accounting Fraud:
Maneuvering and Manipulation Past and Present
Accounting fraud and manipulation are summarized in seven
chapters. The first chapter introduces
the dynamic environment of deceit and illicit acts, and why the major players
would be willing to commit heinous acts.
The roles of regulation and disclosure are explored, including when and
why they are either successful or failures (and often a combination of the
two). The next five chapters cover American business, scandals and attempts at
reform, in roughly chronological order.
Chapter Two covers the broad period before the reforms of the New
Deal. Chapter Three looks at the Great
Depression in some detail. The
Securities and Exchange Commission, other federal regulations and private
sector reforms (such as establishing accounting standards) are still of
considerable importance today. Chapter
Four covers the post-World War II period through the savings and loan crisis of
the 1980s, with a focus on the movement from relative honesty in industrial and
financial markets to the development of pockets of extreme corruption—perhaps
the start of modern accounting and auditing issues. Chapter Five reviews the 1990s and early 21st
century, including the rise and collapse of the tech bubble. Particular attention is paid to Enron,
perhaps the greatest corporate fraud case in American history. In terms of perverse incentives, corruption through
government and financial markets, massive incentives for deceit and reporting
of bogus numbers, and violating regulatory and disclosure requirement at every
level, Enron had it all. Chapter Six
reviews the strange story of the subprime meltdown, creating a financial crisis
of epic proportions—out of the safest of credit instruments, the mortgage
(accounting was a bit player here). Chapter Seven sums up historical finding and
considers key points for predicting future abuse. The major frustration of speculating about
the future is the continued existence of perverse incentives within financial
markets and global corporations.
Other Essays
Annual Reports of the Minehill & Schuylkill Railroad
Gutenberg--Person of the
Millennium?
A History of Financial
Analysis
Links to the Past
Accounting
Business
Museums
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Hagley Museum
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Lippincott Library
(Wharton) |
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General
American History
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