An examination of early US twentieth century first-year accounting textbooks

Abstract

This study analyses the first editions of the first-year accounting textbooks published in the United States during the first third of the twentieth century. This was a time of rapidly expanding accounting education and these books were developed to meet this need. The analysis in this study includes a topical overview of the 33 books identified as first-year accounting textbooks as well as a detailed examination of the more successful books. The books were not all the same, differing on such items as their intended audiences, presentation of the accounting cycle, consideration of alternative valuation approaches, and other items such as the amount of emphasis on financial statement analysis. Hence, despite similarities such as a focus on procedures, the type of problem material, and a lack of cost/managerial topics, the books provided a rich set of available texts for instructors of the time.