Scholars agree that during the second half of the nineteenth century British legal
judgements did not produce a coherent body of laws on accounting based on consistent
and generally accepted principles of profit measurement and asset valuation. The
paper questions this view by showing that underlying judicial views on accounting
from 1849 to Lee v. Neuchatel in 1889 and the writings of late nineteenth century
accountants, there were generally accepted "laws” of accounting,
called here “capital-revenue accounting” (CRA), that are
consistent with Marx's analysis of the “laws” governing
the “circuit of industrial capital”.
Best, J.W.
, (1885), “Payment of Dividend Out of
Capital”, The Accountant, 5 December, pp.7-10.
2.
Briggs, L.L.
, (1934), “Asset Valuation and Dividend
Decisions”, The Accounting Review, September, pp.184-191.
3.
Bryer, R.A.
, (1993),
“The Late Nineteenth Century Revolution in Financial Reporting:
Accounting for Investor or Managerial Capitalism?”
, Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol.18,
Nos.7/8, pp.
649-690
.
4.
Bryer, R.A.
, (1994a),
“Why Marx's Labour Theory is Superior to the Marginalist
Theory of Value: The Case from Modern Financial Reporting”
, Critical Perspectives on Accounting, Vol.5,
No.4, December, pp.
313-340
.
5.
Bryer, R.A.
, (1994b),
“Accounting for the Social Relations of Feudalism”
, Accounting and Business Research, No.95, Summer, pp.
209-228
.
6.
Bryer, R.A.
, (1995),
“A Political Economy of SSAP22: Accounting for Goodwill”
, British Accounting Review, Vol.27,
No.4, December, pp.
283-310
.
7.
Bryer, R.A.
, (1997),
“The Mercantile Laws Commission of 1854 and the Political Economy
of Limited Liability”
, The Economic History Review, Vol.50,
No.1, pp.
36-54
.
8.
Bryer, R.A.
, (1998), “A Marxist Critique of the
FASB's Conceptual Framework”, Critical
Perspectives on Accounting, (forthcoming 1998).
9.
Chambers, R.J.
and
Wolnizer, P.W.
, (1991),
“A True and Fair View of Position and Results: The Historical Background”
, Accounting, Business and Financial History, Vol.1,
No.2, pp.
197-213
.
10.
Chastney, J.G.
, (1975), True and Fair View: A Study of the Meaning of True
and Fair and a Consideration of the Fourth Directive, April,
London: The Institute of Chartered Accountants
in England and Wales
.
11.
Cooper, E.
, (1888), “What is the Profit of a
Company?”, The Accountant, 10 November, pp.740-746.
12.
Cooper, E.
, (1891), “Notes on Mr. T.A. Welton's
Paper ‘On the Profit of Companies Available for
Distribution’”, The Accountant, 3 January, pp.12-15.
13.
Cooper, E.
, (1894), “Chartered Accountants and the Profit
Question”, The Accountant, 24 November, pp.1033-1043.
14.
Dickinson, A.L.
, (1904), “The Profits of a
Corporation”, The Accountant, 22 October, pp.442-453.
Flint, D.
, (1982), A True and Fair View in Company Accounts,
London: Gee & Co., Institute of
Chartered Accountants of Scotland
.
22.
French, E.A.
, (1977), “The Evolution of the Dividend Law of
England”, in
Baxter, W.T.
and
Davidson, S.
(eds.) Studies in Accounting,
London: The Institute of Chartered Accountants
in England and Wales
.
23.
Glasgow Institute of Accountants Debating Society
, (1889), “Obligation of a Company to Provide for
Depreciation of Wasting Assets before Declaring Dividends”,
The Accountant, 14 December, pp.676-682.
24.
Gower, L.C.B.
, (1992), Principles of Modern Company Law, fifth editionLondon: Sweet & Maxwell
.
25.
Great Britain
, (1844), “Report from the Select Committee on
Joint Stock Companies, First Report and Minutes of Evidence”,
British Parliamentary Papers, Vol.VII.
26.
Hannah, L.
, (1983), The Rise of the Corporate Economy, second
edition,
London: Methuen
.
27.
Heim, L.M.
, (1978), The British Companies Acts and the Practice of
Accountancy 1844–62,
New York: Arno Press
.
28.
Littleton, A.C.
, (1933), Accounting Evolution to 1900,
New York: Russell & Russell
.
29.
Marx, K.
, (1978), Capital, Volume 2,
London: Penguin
.
30.
Marx, K.
, (1981), Capital, Volume 3,
London: Penguin
.
31.
Mather, J.
, (1888), “The Ethics of
Accountancy”, Accountant, 22 December, in
Chatfield, M.
(ed.), (1978), The English View of Accountants Duties and Responsibilities,
New York: Arno Press
.
32.
Moore, W.F.
, (1883), “‘Revenue’ and
‘Profit and Loss’ Accounts”, The
Accountant, 26 May, pp.10-13.
33.
Morris, R.D.
, (1986), “Lee v. Neuchatel Asphalte Company
(1889) and Depreciation Accounting: Two Empirical Studies”,
Accounting and Business Research, No.65, Winter, pp.71-81.
34.
Napier, C.J.
, (1997),
“The British Aristocracy, Capital and Income, and Nineteenth
Century Company Accounting”
, presented at the Fifth Interdisciplinary Perspectives on
Accounting Conference, University of Manchester,
7–9 July.
35.
Payne, A.W.
, (1882), “The Principles Upon Which the Assets
of a Joint Stock Company Should be Valued for Balance
Sheets”, The Accountant, 13 February, pp.141-146.
36.
Pixley, F.W.
, (1881), Auditors: Their Duties and Responsibilities,
first edition,
London: Henry Good & Son
.
37.
Pixley, F.W.
, (1883), “Lecture III. Auditing”, read
before the Chartered Accountants’ Students’ Society
of London, 8 May, in Pixley, F.W., (1978), The Profession of a Chartered
Accountant,
New York: Arno Press
(reprint of the 1897 edition published by H. Good & Son, London).
38.
Pixley, F.W.
, (1887a), Auditors: Their Duties and Responsibilities,
fourth edition,
London: Henry Good & Son
.
39.
Pixley, F.W.
, (1887b), “Lecture IV.
Auditing”, read before the Chartered Accountants’
Students’ Society of London, 25 October, in Pixley, F.W., (1978), The
Profession of a Chartered Accountant,
New York: Arno Press
(reprint of the 1897 edition published by H. Good & Son, London).
40.
Pixley, F.W.
, (1892), “Lecture II. The Preparation of the
Accounts of Companies for the Purposes of Audit”, read before
the Institute of Secretaries, 21 December, in Pixley, F.W., (1978), The
Profession of a Chartered Accountant,
New York: Arno Press
(reprint of the 1897 edition published by H. Good & Son, London).
41.
Pixley, F.W.
, (1978), The Profession of a Chartered Accountant,
New York: Arno Press
(reprint of the 1897 edition published by H. Good & Son, London).
42.
Reid, J.M.
, (1986), Law and Accounting: Pre-1889 British Legal
Cases,
New York & London: Garland Publishing, Inc.
43.
Reid, J.M.
, (1987),
“Judicial Views on Accounting in Britain Before 1889”
, Accounting and Business Research, Vol.17,
No.67, Summer, pp.
247-258
.
44.
Scott, W.R.
, (1912), The Constitution and Finance of English, Scottish
and Irish Joint-Stock Companies to 1720, 3 Vols.,
Cambridge University Press
(reprinted 1951, New York: Peter Smith).
45.
Walton, P.
, (1993),
“Introduction: The True and Fair View in British Accounting”
, European Accounting Review, Vol.2,
No.1, pp.
49-58
.
46.
Yamey, B.S.
, (1962), “The Case Law Relating to Company
Dividends”, in
Baxter, W.T.
(ed.), Studies in Accounting Theory,
London: Sweet & Maxwell
.
