In recent years there has been increasing interest shown in the history and development of accounting practices; accounting records are an important source of historical data, and they can also provide evidence of varied organizational structures and systems of management control.

This volume brings together published work by the major British scholars in the field, and is intended as a contribution to accounting scholarship on the 500th anniversary of Pacioli's Summa de Arithmetica (1494). Contributions are grouped under the following headings: The Ancient World; Before Double Entry; Corporate Accounting; Local Government Accounting; Cost and Management Accounting; Accounting Theory; and Accounting in Context.

Contributors: W. T. Baxter, S. Burchell, C. D. B. Clubb, T. E. Cooke, J. R. Edwards, D. A. R. Forrester, J. Freear, J. J. Glynn, P. D. A. Harvey, A. G. Hopwood, P. Hudson, R. H. Jones, G. A. Lee, T. A. Lee, R. H. Macve, S. Marriner, M. Mepham, M. Mumford, C. J. Napier, E. Newell, C. W. Nobes, C. W. Noke, R. H. Parker, D. A. Postles, D. W. Rathbone, B. S. Yamey