The Accounts of the Consett Iron Company, 1864–1914
1992; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 22; Issue: 86 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/00014788.1992.9729424
ISSN2159-4260
AutoresTrevor Baldwin, R. H. Berry, Roy Church,
Tópico(s)Historical Economic and Social Studies
ResumoAbstract This paper presents an analysis of the accounts of the Consett Iron Company for the years 1864 to 1914. This particular company has been chosen for analysis because of its economic significance during that period, and because of the high level of disclosure of accounting policies provided in its reports. The paper describes the process leading to the preparation of a standard set of accounts, including profit and loss appropriation account, balance sheet, and flow of funds statement. Particular emphasis is placed on identifying the extent to which capital expenditure was ‘hidden’ by being immediately written off against profit. The paper argues that the flow of funds approach is particularly useful in dealing with company accounts of this period because it removes the need to make assumptions about appropriate depreciation patterns.
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