The Priesthood of Industry The Rise of the Professional Accountant in British Management,9780198289609

The Priesthood of Industry The Rise of the Professional Accountant in British Management

by ; ;
ISBN13: 9780198289609
ISBN10: 019828960X
Format: Hardcover
Pub. Date: 1998-06-04
Publisher(s): Oxford University Press
List Price: $386.05

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Summary

The Priesthood of Industry documents the history of the rise of accountants in the United Kingdom to their present position as the dominant professional grouping in the boardroom and in the top echelons of British management. Focusing on the individual professional accountant, the authors adopt an economic determinist analysis to explain the rise of public practice and the routes by which staff transferred to industry in increasing numbers. They also identify demand and supply side factors to explain the professional accountant's present hegemony in business management. In addition, the book traces the origins of the major professional bodies and the evolution of 'family trees' of the 'Big Six' accountancy firms.

Author Biography


Professor Edwards is editor of the leading international journal Accounting, Business and Financial History

Table of Contents

List of Figures
xii(1)
List of Tables
xiii(2)
Abbreviations xv
1. Introduction
1(15)
The professionalization process
1(2)
The accountancy profession
3(4)
Demand and response
7(6)
Concluding comments
13(3)
2. Roots of the Profession
16(22)
Some numbers and practices
17(1)
The pathway to `public accountant'
18(4)
Non-accounting services
22(3)
Training new entrants
25(1)
Getting started
26(4)
Accelerating demand for accounting services
30(6)
Concluding comments
36(2)
3. The Rise of the Accounting Function
38(51)
Accountancy firms
38(20)
Accountancy societies
58(11)
Counting the accountants
69(5)
Gender
74(4)
Social and financial backgrounds
78(8)
Concluding comments
86(3)
4. Accountants and Business Management in Victorian and Edwardian Britain
89(53)
The economic background: economic decline and the rise of the corporate economy
89(4)
Insolvency
93(4)
Auditing
97(7)
Consultancy
104(8)
Cost accounting
112(7)
Taxation
119(1)
Public sector work
120(3)
Company secretaries and directors
123(9)
Entrepreneurs and employees
132(7)
Concluding comments
139(3)
5. Accountants in the Economic Maelstrom: The First World War and the Inter-war Years
142(41)
Economic background
142(3)
Professional practice
145(6)
Accountants in public service in the First World War
151(3)
Special work in rationalization, rescues, and mergers
154(6)
Accountants on the board
160(4)
Coming in at the top
164(4)
Accountants working their way up
168(5)
Accountants in charge
173(7)
Concluding comments
180(3)
6. Rise of the `Priesthood' in the Post-Second World War era
183(59)
Accountants at war
183(3)
Economic background
186(3)
Professional firms
189(14)
Routes to the top
203(24)
Some numbers for accountants in industry
227(13)
Concluding comments
240(2)
7. Some Explanations and Conclusions
242(41)
A quarter of a million professional accountants
242(4)
Businesses' demand for accountants
246(5)
Management and accounting education
251(11)
Accountants in top management
262(14)
Concluding comments
276(7)
Appendix: Family Trees of Accountancy Bodies and Firms 283(40)
References 323(22)
Index 345

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