Analysis of The Town Officer (1791-1815): The earliest American treatise on municipal accounting?

Recent research has produced the earliest known treatise on Accounting written by an American. Samuel Freeman\u27s The Town Officer [1791] is significant in that it recommended double-entry fund accounting for municipalities. The paper analyzes and compares Freeman\u27s objectives of a plain and regular Method to modem municipal accounting concepts as articulated by the GASB. Additionally, the entries and the accounts recommended by Freeman are analyzed and compared to modern municipal accounting evidenced in current textbook material. These analyses show The Town Officer to be a significant contribution to accounting literature not only for its 1791 publication date, but also for the similarity of its content to present day municipal accounting objectives and requirements

Young Man\u27s Companion of 1737: America\u27s First Book on Accounting?

This paper introduces the first accounting writing published in America: ‘Merchant\u27s‐Accompts’ in Bradford\u27s Young Man\u27s Cornpanion (Philadelphia, 1737). The earliest American publications previously recognized were Hutton (1788) and Mitchell (1796). There were fifteen eighteenth century American printings of the Young Man\u27s Companion. American accounting historians have overlooked the work, probably because of H. C. Bentley\u27s restrictive bibliography. ‘Merchant\u27s‐Accompts’ presents a short, but fairly sophisticated, double‐entry instruction. Research reveals a tangled bibliographical history involving an incorrect attribution and a double plagiarism. The republication in 1748 by Benjamin Franklin gave credit to the proper author, George Fisher, who was once thought to be a woman. Knowledge of the Young Man\u27s Companion adds an important dimension to our understanding of the development of accounting in America. Copyright © 1984, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserve

Can blockchains serve an accounting purpose?

The blockchain has enabled the successful creation of decentralized digital currency networks. This success has prompted further investigation into the usefulness of blockchains in other business settings. Because of the blockchain’s use as a ledger, the question arises whether the blockchain could become a more secure alternative to current accounting ledgers. We show that this is infeasible. By casting this question in the context of the Byzantine Generals Problem, which the blockchain was designed to solve, we identify multiple flaws hindering implementation of the blockchain as a financial reporting tool. Whereas blockchain-based digital currencies only exist within the blockchain, economic transactions exist outside of accounting records. This distinction prevents an acceptable level of transaction verification using the blockchain model. Additionally, the security benefits of the blockchain that render it ostensibly immutable are not fully available or reliable in an accounting setting

Continuous auditing: Building automated auditing capability

The digital economy has significantly altered the way business is conducted and financial information is communicated. A rapidly growing number of organizations are conducting business and publishing business and financial reports online and in real-time. Real-time financial reporting is likely to necessitate continuous auditing to provide continuous assurance about the quality and credibility of the information presented. The audit process has, by necessity, evolved from a conventional manual audit to computer-based auditing and is now confronted with creating continuous electronic audits. Rapidly emerging information technology and demands for more timely communication of information to business stakeholders requires auditors to invent new ways to continuously monitor, gather, and analyze audit evidence. Continuous auditing is defined here as a comprehensive electronic audit process that enables auditors to provide some degree of assurance on continuous information simultaneously with, or shortly after, the disclosure of the information. This paper is based on a review of related literature, innovative continuous auditing applications, and the experiences of the authors. An approach for building continuous audit capacity is presented and audit data warehouses and data marts are described. Ever improving technology suggests that the real-time exchange of sensitive financial data will place constant pressure on auditors to update audit techniques. Most of the new techniques that will be required will involve creation of new software and audit models. Future research should focus on how continuous auditing could be constantly improved in various auditing domains including assurance, attestation, and audit services

An analysis of The Town Officer (1791-1815): The earliest American treatise on municipal accounting?

Recent research has produced the earliest known treatise on Accounting written by an American. Samuel Freeman’s The Town Officer [1791] is significant in that it recommended double-entry fund accounting for municipalities. The paper analyzes and compares Freeman’s objectives of “a plain and regular Method” to modern municipal accounting concepts as articulated by the GASB. Additionally, the entries and the accounts recommended by Freeman are analyzed and compared to modern municipal accounting evidenced in current textbook material. These analyses show The Town Officer to be a significant contribution to accounting literature not only for its 1791 publication date, but also for the similarity of its content to present day municipal accounting objectives and requirements

The Origins of a Great Profession

Book Description: A monograph to accompany an exhibition at Columbia University of rare accounting books and manuscripts from the Montgomery Collection in honor of the centennial of the American Institute of CPAs. Bruce Bradford is a contributing co-author, as follows: with Peter L. McMickle, Pacioli, (Frater Lucas de Burgo Sancti Sepulchri). Summa de arithmetica geometria proportioni et proportionalita. Venice: Paganinus de Paganinis, November 10, 1494. 308 leaves. 31 cm. . with Simon Stevin, Vorstelicke bovckhouding op de Italiaensche manier wyse in domeine en finance extraordinaire . . . Leyden: Ian Bouwensz, 1607. 102 leaves. 28.5 cm. . with William Gordon, The universal accountant and complete merchant, In two volumes. Edinburgh: For Alexander Donaldson, 1763-1765. 2 vol. [XIII] 462; [VI] 466 pgs. 21 cm. . with Peter L. McMickle, Foster, Benjamin Franklin. A concise treatise on commercial book-keeping. . . Boston: Perkins & Marvin; Philadelphia: H. Perkins, 1836. 171 pgs. 23.5 cm.https://digitalcommons.fairfield.edu/business-books/1033/thumbnail.jp