Accounting History Research Articles

Some reflections on the orientations and volume of accounting history research in the 21st century

Este artículo toma como punto de partida el 8th World Congress of Accounting Historians e intenta identificar las orientaciones que la investigación en historia de la contabilidad ha seguido desde entonces, es decir, desde el año 2000 hasta el 2007, los primeros años del siglo XX. El principal propósito de este ensayo es averiguar si ha habido novedades significativas en las direcciones de la investigación o, si por el contrario, su desarrollo ha seguido el curso previsible. Trataremos de asociar este propósito al estudio del volumen de la investigación publicada a este respecto en las principales revistas de contabilidad. Después de haber examinado y descrito la evolución de la historia de la contabilidad en estos primeros años del presente siglo, presentaremos algunas consideraciones personales acerca de los derroteros en que la investigación podría moverse en el próximo futuro.
 Para cumplir este propósito, he tomado en consideración los artículos más importantes sobre el estado de la cuestión publicados en el período en cuestión y, sobre todo, he examinado cuidadosamente los artículos publicados en las revistas doctrinales dedicadas de forma específica o preferente a la historia de la contabilidad, es decir, Accounting Historians Journal, Accounting, Business and Financial History, Accounting History, Contabilità e Cultura Aziendale y De Computis. Con el mismo fin, he revisado las revistas de contabilidad más relevantes. Entre todas ellas, las que han mostrado más interés por la historia de la contabilidad, ordenadas según el número de artículos publicados sobre esta materia, han sido las siguientes: Accounting, Organizations and Society, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, European Accounting Review, Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Revista Española de Financiación y Contabilidad, Abacus, Revista de Contabilidad, Accounting and Business Research, y Accounting Forum. Aparte de en éstas, hemos encontrado artículos sobre historia de la contabilidad en unas cincuenta revistas más entre todas las examinadas. En total, he encontrado artículos sobre nuestra disciplina en 62 revistas. Los artículos publicados en estas revistas tomados en consideración se elevan a un total de 683.
 Aunque a menudo suponen la investigación más reciente y avanzada, no hemos tenido en cuenta los trabajos no publicados presentados en los principales congresos y encuentros sobre historia de la contabilidad. En muchos casos, no se trata de artículos completamente terminados, sino en proceso de elaboración. En otros casos, se presentan varias versiones de ellos, recogiendo correcciones y mejoras, en congresos sucesivos. Por consiguiente, su toma en consideración hubiera ampliado artificialmente el volumen de la investigación realizada. Por otra parte, la mayoría de los más revelantes se acaba publicando.

The 1908 earthquake of Messina: An accounting perspective on the city's reconstruction between faith and Fascism

This article focuses on the 1923–1937 period when the rise of Benito Mussolini's Fascist regime drove public works programmes. The 1908 earthquake almost destroyed Messina and, in the Fascist period Angelo Paino, the new Metropolitan Archbishop of Messina, fostered the reconstruction of the ecclesiastical heritage of the city and surrounding villages. Primary and secondary sources were collected and analysed to investigate the role of accounting and calculation practices in interpreting the urban reconstruction programme that the Fascist government actively supported. This research contributes to accounting history research adding the new reading of accounting, disasters and urban reconstruction, and highlighting the relations between the Fascist regime and the Catholic Church within an urban reconstruction programme following one of history's major catastrophes. We obtained several findings, including an interpretation of the Fascist regime's reconstruction of the city's churches and key public buildings as an instrument of consensus among the Catholic electorate.

THE USE OF NFT TOKENS IN THE ERA OF DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION: PROSPECTS FOR IMPLEMENTATION

Purpose. The aim of the article is to study the peculiarities of NFT for the development of modern business and other important processes related to the preservation and protection of property rights for the implementation of digital assets. Methodology of research. This study is based on scientific research on the formation and functioning of NFT tokens in the digital market. The study employed various methods including dialectical analysis, expert evaluation of publications and opinions, statistical analysis of NFT token dynamics, system analysis for theoretical generalisations and establishing structural links between the elements of the studied system, and abstract and logical methods for formulating conclusions and recommendations and others. Findings. The article examines the importance of using NFT tokens as a technologically important tool for preserving ownership based on non-reciprocity, which allows you to secure these rights for token owners and preserve the originality of the objects of application of these tokens. This, in turn, involves establishing the value of implementing technologies in art, culture, musical works, as well as in the field of virtual reality, collecting objects, and including, in the real sector of the economy, connecting the data of digital assets with the real services of corporations. Originality. The article substantiates the essence of NFT tokens, their value and features of application based on non-reciprocity technology, which reveals the scientific and practical significance of their application. The ability to use these tokens to authenticate and trace the provenance of digital content, address issues related to plagiarism and intellectual property theft, increase trust in digital assets, and preserve information integrity indicates that NFT technology is the digital certificate of authenticity that proves creation of assets, the right to own them, records and stores the history of transactions or accounting of trading operations. Practical value. The main provisions of the article can be used by domestic business entities to determine the priority areas of digitization and future potential developments based on NFT technologies using the experience of leading leaders in this field. Further research can be aimed at introducing this technology into the business processes of companies that plan to promote their brand on the global market, tokenize their own services, and digitize business processes using customer engagement. Also, NFT technology is changing the key role in the development of virtual reality, in particular the ideas on the basis of which Metaverses are being developed. Key words: NFT token, NFT technology, blockchain, Web 3.0, digital assets.

Exploring the History of Islamic Accounting and the Concept of Accountability in an Islamic Perspective

The history of conventional accounting dominates the literature on the history of accounting, and it is still rare to find a history that describes Islamic accounting comprehensively. In addition, the concept of accountability is still dominated by financial accountability alone. This paper aims to describe the history of Islamic accounting starting from the period of the Prophet until the 20th century. This paper also attempts to describe the concept of accountability from an Islamic perspective. The research approach used in this paper is categorized as qualitative research. The bibliographic method or library analysis used in this study reviews some of the previous literature on the history of Islamic accounting and Islamic accountability. History proves that Muslims have implemented modern and sophisticated accounting systems and practices. The manuscript by Al-Mazindarani entitled "Halakiyah Kitab as-Syiyaqaf Essay" in 765H or 1363M describes the popular accounting practices applied at that time, namely jaridah al-kharaj, jaridah an-nafakat, jaridah al-maal, and jaridah al-masadarin. Even the accounting profession (al-katib) should not be held by everyone and only those who have qualifications such as technical competence, understanding of sharia values, being responsible and trustworthy. The history of Islamic accounting is inseparable from the awareness of avoiding usury, the formation of the first Islamic bank, and the role of professional organizations in terms of regulation of Islamic accounting standards. The Islamic accounting conceptual framework is very different from the conventional accounting conceptual framework in terms of meaning and definition, profit perception, going concern assumption, unit of measurement assumption, and disclosure principle. Accountability in Islam views the responsibility of each individual or company to God as the giver of the mandate (hablum minallah) and to humans (hablum minannas).

A study of Michelangelo's David from an accountability perspective: Antecedents of dialogic accounting in the early Florentine Renaissance

This article contributes to the accounting history literature through an investigation of the realisation and placement of Michelangelo's David from an accountability perspective. Using a contextual approach to thematic archival research, we explore whether and how early dialogic accounting (DA) tools were adopted by a hybrid organisation – the Opera of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence – during the period of the statute of David's realisation (1501−1504). Through our analysis of primary and secondary sources, this study sheds light on an early Renaissance accountability system that was based on consensus building and DA. The novel contribution of this study is thus threefold. First, this article adds an early Renaissance analysis to the literature concerning DA. Second, we reveal a new strand of research for accounting historians in regard to the historical period and context of this study. Third, we extend the literature's focus to a hybrid organisation that was financed by the Republic of Florence, associated with the Church and managed by commercial guilds.

ACCOUNTING HISTORY: A BIBLIOMETRIC LITERATURE REVIEW

Accounting is much more than a science, is a branch of our heritage history. Since the dawn of primitive era, it has been a part of us and kept developing. Given its importance, the literature in accounting history has grown but much remains to be unravelled. In this sense, this research is a literature review on the evolution of accounting. The aim is to highlight the accounting timelessness in humanity and to analyse the scientific production in accounting history. A quantitative bibliometric analysis was conducted using VOSviewer and R Bibliometrix software. A total of 236 publications were selected from the Web of Science database, between 1975 and 2021. In this research, we found that the main subtopics in accounting history research are: (1) accounting history and its relevance, (2) the roles of accounting in society, (3) accounting and religion and (3) schools of thought in accounting history. Australia, England, America, and Italy are the countries with most published articles. “Accounting History”, “Accounting Organizations and Society” and “Accounting Historians Journal” have been among the top journals, Garry Carnegie, Delfina Gomes and Christopher Napier are the most influential authors and the institutions, like Rmit University, the University of Minho and Cardiff University, stand out on accounting history research, considering the number of publications. The research trend and the progress in accounting history were discussed.

Ledger to ledger: off- and on-chain auditing of stablecoin

To assess the financial statements of companies that invest in stablecoin, a digital representation of a fiat currency managed and backed by a blockchain, the auditor must collect evidence of transactions from the blockchain (on-chain) or from an off-chain ledger managed by an intermediary. This study aims to expand the understanding of such transactions, outline possible configurations for the recognition of stablecoin balances and transactions in financial statements, and audit procedures for collecting evidence of these transactions. Based on actual transactions of stablecoin registered on the Ethereum blockchain, we present a hypothetical case of the accounting history of an audited company to demonstrate the challenges in establishing accounting and audit procedures for these novel transactions. We observe an abundance, diversity, and unprecedentedness in the stablecoin transactions studied. We further identify the need to adapt current audit procedures and create new ones, and rethink the very process of doing so. The findings could help auditors obtain more significant knowledge of the information required to assess a company’s financial statements when such statements include stablecoin transactions. In addition, the study addresses the evolving relationship between auditing, accounting, and information technology, and the problems in integrating accounting and information technology.

Cash basis accounting of Wilanów estate in 1892–1914

Purpose: The article presents the cash flow method in the accounting of the Wilanów estate at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries. Methodology/approach: The research methodology includes a critical analysis of source materials and the literature, and descriptive and deductive methods. The essence of the article is an analysis of the cash account, cash register balances, accounting books and their connections in terms of disclosing cash flows in the accounting of Wilanów estates. Findings: The results are compared with the current research on economic briefings and the practice of cash flow in Poland. Originality/value: The conclusions contribute to the analysis of changes and directions of development in cash flow reporting, and they supplement the didactics in the field of accounting history. The article fills the research gap in the context of presenting cash flows on the example of a manor farm in former Poland.

Analytical Study of Financial Accounting and Management Trends Based on the Internet Era.

With the development of Internet technology and computer technology, the network has provided convenience to enterprises while putting forward new requirements for the development of the accounting industry. The combination of traditional financial accounting methods and computerized information technology enables accurate and rapid transmission of financial data. At the same time, the application of network technology optimizes the financial accounting process of enterprises and greatly improves the efficiency of accounting work and accountants can devote more time and energy to the analysis of enterprise financial information. However, with the application of Internet technology, the change in financial accounting has also generated new problems. The article focuses on the topic of financial accounting; first, it briefly introduces the development history of financial accounting and the Internet; second, it discusses the changes in accounting work mode and its characteristics under the network environment and analyzes the advantages and problems of combining network technology and financial accounting; and finally, it puts forward the countermeasures to solve the “Internet+” era financial accounting work for the current situation. Finally, the countermeasures to solve the financial accounting work in the era of “Internet+” are proposed to improve the professional ability of financial personnel.

“On duty in pursuit of the natives”: accounting and truth-telling about Australia's frontier wars

PurposeThis paper considers how archival accounting records may support truth-telling about past atrocities during Australia's frontier wars.Design/methodology/approachThe study examines two colonial accounting records – military muster payrolls and the ledger statements of a local tax fund – used during the British's punitive expeditions against the Aboriginal peoples of Sydney in 1816.FindingsThe accounting records reveal new information about the full scale of the campaign, the degree to which the violence was formally endorsed and acts of Aboriginal resistance. However, much of the human toll of the campaign remains obscured by the highly structured, monetary lens of financial records authored and archived by the British colonial regime.Social implicationsAustralia's First Nations have called for greater truth-telling about the frontier wars to enable meaningful reconciliation and political recognition of Indigenous sovereignty. This study highlights the potential role of accounting records as a resource for contemporary truth-telling processes.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the literature about the dark history of accounting by explicating genre features in the content, form and context of archival accounting records, which can both render past atrocities more visible as well as perpetrate invisibilities, ambiguities and silences.

Lost in translation: Pacioli's de computis et scripturis

This article seeks to determine how much we understand of Pacioli's purpose, and to clarify what he wrote justifying his preparation and publication of his ‘bookkeeping treatise’ in 1494. The context that motivated Pacioli to prepare his treatise is identified: why he published it and for whom. A new critical translation of the first chapter is presented, revealing statements omitted from the translations, and terms misunderstood. Its primary contribution is the clearer overview of fifteenth century Venetian business and bookkeeping practice and of the treatise than is currently presented in the accounting history literature. This should lead to new understanding of the role and purpose of using double entry in European trade during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, and thereafter. Finally, all 10 translations of the treatise evaluated, including the five in English, were found to be unreliable. Anyone using these translations needs to refer continuously to the original text and to how it has been translated into other languages.

The "Spigolature" (Gleanings) column collects peculiarities on accounting history by short essays

The "Spigolature" (Gleanings) column collects peculiarities on accounting history by short essays

Let's promote accounting history research!

Let's promote accounting history research!

A VIEW OF THE OTTOMAN ACCOUNTING HISTORY THROUGH THE HEREKE FACTORY IN THE CONTEXT OF WORLD-SYSTEMS ANALYSIS

Wallerstein oluşturduğu dünya-sistemleri analizinde, modern dünya-sistemin tarihini 16. yüzyıldan başlatmıştır. Osmanlı İmparatorluğu da 19. yüzyılda çevre ülke olarak modern dünya-sistemine dahil olmuştur. Özellikle Fransa’yla yakın ilişki içinde olan Osmanlı, siyasi, ekonomik, toplumsal ve kültürel birçok alanda etkilenmiştir. Muhasebe sistemi de bu etkinin görüldüğü alanlardan birisi olmuştur. Batılılaşma hareketlerinin bir sonucu olarak Fransız usullerine göre kayıt yapmak (çift taraflı muhasebe sistemi) için adımlar atılmış, muhasebeciler eğitim almak üzere Fransa’ya gönderilmiş ve Ticaret Kanunu Fransa’dan alınmıştır. Bu çalışmada da Osmanlı’daki muhasebe sisteminin geçirdiği dönüşüm, o dönemde kurulmuş olan Hereke Fabrikası üzerinden incelenerek bir muhasebe tarihi anlatısı tasarlanmıştır. Osmanlı Arşivi’nde yapılan tarama sonucu Fabrikanın 1884 tarihli defterlerinde çift taraflı kayıt sistemine göre muhasebe kaydı yapılması, Fransızca muhasebe defterleri, faturalar ve terimler bulunması 19. yüzyılda bir merkez ülke olan Fransa’nın, çevre ülke olan Osmanlı’daki muhasebe sistemini önemli derecede etkilediğini göstermektedir.

“Professores que nunca morrem”: Rogério Fernandes Ferreira (1929-2010), um pedagogo ao serviço do ensino superior de contabilidade

The article is a tribute to Rogério Fernandes Ferreira (1929-2010), an accounting academic with a remarkable legacy in this area of knowledge. The text revisits the main aspects of his life, his vast published work and his long professional career. With relevant contributions to Portuguese accounting regulation, ethics and deontology in accounting, professional associations and higher education in accounting and related areas, the accounting-tax literature produced by him over more than 50 years has left indelible marks in the panorama of accounting history in Portugal. Professor Rogério Fernandes Ferreira is one of the great national names with a place reserved in the Portuguese accounting gallery. Its high pedagogical qualities have benefited successive generations of students and accounting professionals. With this in mind, this work is aimed especially at the new generations of accounting students interested in knowing and honoring the life, work and example of Rogério Fernandes Ferreira, an unavoidable historical reference, whose cultural heritage and contribution to the development of accounting in Portugal deserve dissemination and perpetuation in the time and memory of accountants. In doing so, the article contributes to motivating accounting students for the historical greatness of the discipline and for the importance of the knowledge of the life and work of the main masters of accounting in Portugal.

Editorial Policy

Editorial Policy

HER2-targeted immunoconjugates for breast cancer: Ancestry and dose adjustment for thrombocytopenia.

1048 Background: Thrombocytopenia (TCP) is a common toxicity of HER2-targeted agents, trastuzumab emtansine (TDM1) and trastuzumab deruxtecan (TDXd). A high incidence of this toxicity was observed in pivotal trials that led to approval of these agents. We investigated whether Asian ancestry increases risk of dose adjustment for TCP on TDM1/TDXd and its impact on dosing in the real-world setting. Methods: Females with HER2+ breast cancer who initiated TDM1/TDXd between 1/16/17-10/26/21 were identified by retrospective review. Primary endpoint was number of chemotherapy cycles until adjustment of TDM1/TDXd dose for TCP; competing endpoints included discontinuation for other toxicity, disease progression, and completion of treatment. Individuals who were switched from TDM1 to TDXd contributed an additional observation post-switch. Recurrent events analysis evaluated Asian ancestry (p<0.05) using a proportional means model, with robust sandwich estimate recognizing correlation between repeated observations per individual. Covariates (age, metastatic disease, drug, prior adjustment) were retained if they improved the model. Results: The study excluded individuals who declined to self-identify (n=23), self-identified as other than Asian or White (n=28), and/or dissented to research (n=24). The study included n=181 individuals (mean age 55.1+12.8 years), of whom n=48 (26.5%) identified as Asian and n=124 (68.5%) had metastatic disease. Overall, 33 individuals received TDXd exclusively, leaving 148 (81.8%) individuals who received TDM1, including 45 individuals who later switched to TDXd after development of TCP while on TDM1 (n=9) or other toxicity (n=36) on TDM1. For n=226 observations (total 2551 cycles), the endpoint was dose adjustment for TCP (n=32), discontinuation for other toxicity or disease progression (n=112), completion of treatment (n=27), or censoring (n=55). Taking into account history of switching drug for TCP, Asian ancestry was associated with increased risk of dose adjustment for TCP (Table). Neither age, metastatic disease, nor specific drug improved the model (data not shown). Conclusions: Among individuals taking TDM1 and/or TDXd for HER2+ breast cancer, we observed that those with Asian ancestry are at greater risk of dose reduction for TCP than their non-Asian counterparts. Upon confirmation in additional individuals with HER2+ cancers of the breast and other sites, this heightened susceptibility to TCP among Asian individuals should be further investigated to elucidate the underlying mechanism and optimize clinical guidelines for prevention and management. [Table: see text]

Business budgeting as a tool of scientific management and rationalisation in Poland in the interwar period

The purpose of the article is to examine the premises and extent of the dissemination of business budgeting using publications in interwar Poland (1918–1939) and to indicate Polish authors’ sources of knowledge on this issue. The article also seeks to investigate whether budgeting was promoted and introduced in Poland to propel development in a nation that was reawakening as a country after more than 120 years of partitions. The dissemination of budgeting is considered in connection with the idea of rationalisation, which originated in the United States, and the scientific management movement in Europe that it influenced. The article shows Poles promoting business budgeting and their actions following the theory of progress in order to increase the prosperity of a country that was rebuilding a unified economic organism and national identity. The article contributes to the history of scientific management and accounting as it brings new elements by examining the non-Western interwar environment.

Counting nature: some implications of quantifying environmental issues in corporate reports

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the role numbers play in corporate environmental reporting. To deeply examine the ontological meanings of enumeration in the context of nature, the histories of number and accounting are explored. Some key tropes emerge from these histories, namely, distancing and control.Design/methodology/approachTo explore some of the implications of quantifying nature, three years of environmental reports of ten companies from the ASX200 are analysed through a Barthsian lens. Examples of enumerating nature are highlighted and explored in terms of what this means for the corporate relationship with nature. This study has focussed on some specific aspects of nature that are commonly counted in corporate environmental reporting: carbon, energy, water, biodiversity and waste. This study explores how monetisation and obfuscation are used and how this informs the myth that nature is controllable.FindingsThis study finds that quantifying nature constructs a metaphorical distance between the company and the natural world which erodes the sense of connection associated with an authentic care for nature. These findings are critical in light of the detrimental impact of corporate activity on the natural world. The reports themselves, while promoted as a tool to help mitigate damage to the natural environment, are implicitly perpetuating its harm.Research limitations/implicationsGiven the extent to which companies are responsible for environmental damage and the potential capacity embedded in corporate communications, better understanding the implications of quantifying nature could powerfully instigate a new but necessary approach to nature.Originality/valueThe insights of this paper are relevant to those aiming to improve the underpinning approaches used in corporate environmental reporting. This paper provides new understandings of the ways quantitative expression of environmental values constructs the myth that nature is controllable.

A Blockchain based Fund Management Scheme for Financial Transactions in NGOs

Background: In the world of the latest technologies, the blockchain is one of the popular techniques for stopping fraudulent activities. Non-Government Organization (NGO) is increasingly being used to support all the needy people across the globe to shape the world’s responsibility towards society for sustainable development. The existing method of donating money and its monitoring is facing a major corruption problem in several world-renowned NGOs. A Blockchain can transform the way the current business of money transaction is being done in NGOs. The blockchain-based application works on the concept of a decentralized system. Methods: This article presents a blockchain-based transaction system to prevent corruption and money laundering in NGOs and government fundraising organizations. A smart contract has been designed to stop any illegitimate block changes during a financial transaction. Since every node has a copy of the ledger, so it is very difficult to perform malicious activity. Furthermore, the donator can watch how the money flows in the different transactions and everyone can browse the account history. An evaluative judgment, comparing with various consensus algorithms, has also been presented along with their complex nature. The decentralized approach has eliminated the chance of a single point of failure which in turn makes the system robust. Results: The developed framework for the financial transaction using blockchain has been tested using the Rinkeby Test Network. The generators and campaign contracts have been developed and deployed in the Rinkeby testing network. The results indicate that the computing is much more secure and free from the scam in comparison to the traditional client-server financial transaction system. Conclusion: Finally, the proposed approach suggests scenarios such as in NGOs where the introduced security approach should prove to be adequate.