A Brief Outline Of The History Of Price Waterhouse Co In America

Price Waterhouse is one of the oldest established accountancy practices in the world. It is also one of the largest. This history is the story of commercial success: of how a Victorian city partnership of three men grew, in less than 150 years, to employ more than 40,000 people in 143 countries.

Traces the history of the accounting firm of Price Waterhouse, discussing its role as auditor to America's largest corporations

First published in 1996. This book summarises the Seminar held in Edinburgh in 1994 in the five hundredth year since the publication of Luca Pacioli's Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalita. Its purpose is simple but relevant to every accountant. It revisits some fundamentals that lay behind Pacioli's decision to write his Summa, and examines whether the accounting framework in which we work today has overlooked basic issues because of its continued focus on development of the existing financial accounting model. It analyses Pacioli's legacy from several different perspectives, deliberately choosing to do so in ways that addressed considerations that his work reflected, examining the nature and characteristics of the bridge between academic analysis and insight on the one hand and practical application on the other. It also looks at the dominant influences in the evolution of accountancy for managing stewardship and for reporting of that stewardship. By doing so, it attempts to identify influences that had been less pressing and so had been ignored or overlooked, and also considers how changing technology has affected the way we manage the accountancy process.

The Routledge Companion to Accounting History shows how the seemingly innocuous practice of accounting has pervaded human existence in fascinating ways at numerous times and places; from ancient civilisations to the modern day, and from the personal to the political. Placing the history of accounting in context with other fields of study, the collection gives invaluable insights to subjects such as the rise of capitalism, the control of labour, gender and family relationships, racial exploitation, the functioning of the state, and the pursuit of military conflict. An engaging and comprehensive overview also examining geographical differences, this Companion is split into key sections, which explore: changing technologies used to represent financial and other data historical development of accounting theory and practice accounting institutions and those who perform accounting accountancy and the economy accounting, society, and culture the role of accounting in the government, protection and financing of states including chapters on the important role played by accountancy in religious organizations, a review of how the discipline is portrayed in fine art and popular culture, and analysis of sharp practice and corporate scandals. The Routledge Companion to Accounting History has a breadth of coverage that is unmatched in this growing area of study. Bringing together leading writers in the field, this is an essential reference work for any student of accounting, business and management, and history.

From the colonial era to 1914, America was a debtor nation in international accounts--owing more to foreigners than foreigners owed to us. By 1914 it was the world's largest debtor nation. Mira Wilkins provides the first complete history of foreign investment in the United States during that period. The book shows why the United States was attractive to foreign investors and traces the changing role of foreign capital in the nation's development, covering both portfolio and direct investment. The immense new wave of foreign investment in the United States today, and our return to the status of a debtor nation--once again the world's largest debtor nation--makes this strong exposition far more than just historically interesting. Wilkins reviews foreign portfolio investments in government securities (federal, state, and local) and in corporate stocks and bonds, as well as foreign direct investments in land and real estate, manufacturing plants, and even such service-sector activities as accounting, insurance, banking, and mortgage lending. She finds that between 1776 and 1875, public-sector securities (principally federal and state securities) drew in the most long-term foreign investment, whereas from 1875 to 1914 the private sector was the main attraction. The construction of the American railroad system called on vast portfolio investments from abroad; there was also sizable direct investment in mining, cattle ranching, the oil industry, the chemical industry, flour production, and breweries, as well as the production of rayon, thread, and even submarines. In addition, there were foreign stakes in making automobile and electrical and nonelectrical machinery. America became the leading industrial country of the world at the very time when it was a debtor nation in world accounts.