Accounting Regulation

School of Finance & Law Working Paper Series

UK ACCOUNTING REGULATION: AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE by ROBERT G DAY Bournemouth University

No. 20

2000

Bournemouth University, School of Finance & Law (Department of Accounting & Finance), Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset. BH12 5BB

Published 2000 by the School of Finance and Law, Bournemouth University, Talbot Campus, Fern Barrow, Poole, Dorset, BH12 5BB.

For further details contact:

Robert Day

School of Finance & Law Bournemouth University Fern Barrow Poole, BH12 5BB United Kingdom

Tel: Fax: Email: ISBN

(00)-1202-595359 (00)-1202-595261 RDAY@bournemouth.ac.uk 1-85899-101-3

Copyright is held by the individual author. A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library.

Acknowledgements The author would like to thank Professor Stephen Letza of Bournemouth University for his helpful comments. The usual disclaimer applies.

For further information on the series, contact K. Howell, School of Finance & Law, Bournemouth University.

UK ACCOUNTING REGULATION: AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

ROBERT G DAY Bournemouth University

Accounting regulation in the United Kingdom has arisen as a response to social and economic factors as well as individual events. This paper traces the way in which regulation has developed both by governmental and professional actions. The factors behind regulatory change are in many cases unique to the United Kingdom and the paper concludes that it is these very factors which differentiate the control of accounting from the institutions and methods used by other countries.

Introduction

Accounting regulation in the UK follows a model of regulation quite unlike that of other countries. To appreciate the differences it is important to understand the origins of such regulation, by examining the history of the practices, thought and context of accounting. The justification for the historical emphasis could follow one of the...