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The accountancy profession

The ICAEW Library & Information Service provides a range of articles and publications that can help researchers looking into the history of the accountancy profession.

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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.

History of the profession

Guide to historical resources
The collection of the ICAEW Library & Information Service includes many resources that can be used by researchers to trace the history of the profession, the evolution of accounting practice and the lives of accountants. In this guide we highlight some of the material within the collection and the tools available to help you make best use of it.
Professional bodies
The ICAEW Library & Information Service maintains a collection of material on the history and development of the professional bodies in the accountancy sector, including publications issued by many early accountancy bodies that are no longer in existence.
Timeline
Steps to a professional body - a timeline of the development of the Accountancy Profession in the United Kingdom.
Accounting historians' guide to London
London has played an important part in the history of accounting. The purpose of this brief guide by Professor R.H.Parker is to show clearly those places in and around the City of London which are of interest to accounting historians.

Index of UK and Irish accountancy and professional bodies

This index provides information on professional associations, bodies, societies and institutes in the UK and Republic of Ireland that are related to the accountancy profession. It aims to provide a record of current and defunct organisations including historical information such as name changes.
View the index See our holdings of membership lists
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People

Female Firsts
Find out about the key female firsts in accountancy who helped pioneer the way for women in the profession.
Biographical sources
The collection of the ICAEW Library & Information Service holds a range of biographical sources that provide an insight into the profession throughout the years
Membership Lists
A guide to our unique collection of over 220 series of membership lists for accountancy bodies from 1877 to the present day.
See more resources on Accountancy Ancestors

External links on accounting history

Accounting History
Journal of the Accounting History Special Interest Group of the Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand. Includes abstracts of articles from their first issue in 1996 to date.
Accounting History Review
Scholarly journal published three times a year focusing on changes in accounting theories, practices and institutions.
Auditing Practices Committee Archives
Information on the special collection of Auditing Practices Committee (APC) papers from 1971 to 1991 held by John Rylands University Library.
Accounting Standards Committee Archives
Information on the special collection of Accounting Standards Committee (ASC) and Accounting Standards Steering Committee (ASSC) papers from 1952 to 1990 held by John Rylands University Library.
Disclaimer

ICAEW accepts no responsibility for the content on any site to which a hypertext link from this site exists. The links are provided ‘as is’ with no warranty, express or implied, for the information provided within them. Please see the full copyright and disclaimer notice.

See more Useful links on accounting history
Historical Accounting Literature

The ICAEW collection of historical accounting literature currently comprises around 3,000 volumes and includes works published from the 15th century to the early 20th century. The collection includes books and journals in a variety of languages.

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