The development of British accountancy in the nineteenth century: A technological determinist approach

Matthews, Derek Robert 2006. The development of British accountancy in the nineteenth century: A technological determinist approach. Business History 48 (4) , pp. 501-528. 10.1080/00076790600808641

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Abstract

This article argues that some of the most popular treatments of the development of accountancy in Britain do not accord with the historical evidence. This is true of the functionalist's altruistic view of the profession and of the predominant paradigm – the Weberian ‘professional project’. There is no evidence in the early history of British accountancy to support the concepts of, for example: monopolistic closure, credentialism, or the social construction of skill. Instead, using a model based on technological determinism, the article reasserts the importance of the industrialisation process in forming the accountancy profession, and sees the formation of the chartered societies as largely set up to brand the accountants' training and thereby preserve the value of their human capital.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Business (Including Economics)
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D204 Modern History D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions H Social Sciences > HF Commerce > HF5601 Accounting
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Professions; Accounting History; Chartered Accountancy; Technological Determinism
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
ISSN:	0007-6791
Last Modified:	04 Jun 2017 04:39
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/42212

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