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Accountancy practices

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides a range of articles, tools and resources that can help researchers looking into the history of accountancy practices.

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The Guide to historical resources

This guide highlights some of the material and the tools available within the ICAEW Library & Information collection that can be used by researchers to trace the history of the profession, the evolution of accounting practice and the lives of accountants.

Guide to researching the history of an accountancy practice

This guide is intended to provide a guide to the resources available from the ICAEW Library & Information Service that can be used to trace the history of a firm.
View the Research Guide Researching Accountancy Ancestors
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Researching the history of accountancy firms

Research a firm's history
This guide is intended to provide a guide to the resources available from the ICAEW Library & Information Service that can be used to trace the history of a firm.
Firm archives and histories
The ICAEW Library & Information Service holds a collection of resources that can be used to trace the history of a firm, including firms’ family trees, published histories and information on archival material held by the firms.
A guide to historical records
Chartered accountants in England and Wales- a guide to historical records is an essential work for anyone interested in tracing the history of accounting firms and the profession in England And Wales. The book is based around a survey of the archives of accounting archives conducted by the ICAEW in 1991 and 1992.
Firm newsletters
The ICAEW Library & Information Service maintains a collection of newsletters published by accountancy firms, including client-facing newsletters designed to provide updates in a particular area and internal staff newsletters.

Firms histories on external sites

Deloitte 175
  • Website
  • 01 Jan 2020
A selection of articles celebrating the 175th anniversary of Deloitte in 2020. See also the about us section of the Deloitte UK website
Deloitte timeline
  • Website
  • 26 Oct 2022
Timeline of Deloitte history, mainly focussing on the development of the firm in the USA .
Ernst and Young
  • Website
  • 07 Dec 2022
Overview of the history of the firm, looking back on 13 decades.
KPMG - explore our history
  • Website
  • 26 Oct 2022
Timeline of KPMG history and biographies of founding fathers and 'KPMG pioneers' like Ethel Watts who became the first woman to qualify as an accountant by examination to the ICAEW.
PricewaterhouseCoopers
  • Website
  • 26 Oct 2022
Brief timeline and milestones for the firm.
Counting house : the history of PricewaterhouseCoopers on the China coast
  • Website
  • 01 Jan 2002
[link to ICAEW Library Catalogue] Timeline showing the history of the firm in Hong Kong and Shanghai, prepared as part of PwC celebrations of 100 years on the China coast.
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