BOOK REVIEW: STUDIES IN ACCOUNTING HISTORY--TRADITION AND INNOVATION FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

Edited by Atsuo Tsuji and Paul Garner

Greenwood Publishing Group Inc., 284 pages, $75.00

Review by Alexander A.H. Bohtling, CPA, retired from Deloitte & Touche

This book presents 13 papers contributed by delegates to the Sixth World Congress of Accounting Historians, held in August 1992 in Kyoto, Japan. The previous meeting of this organization was held in Sydney, Australia in 1988.

This book was published under the auspices of the Accounting History Association of Japan.

The papers presented in this book were selected by the editors from approximately 50 papers presented for publications.

The said papers, in separate chapters in this book, cover a very wide range of historical accounting developments and occurrences, some going back hundreds of years. They cover situations in various countries, including the U.S., United Kingdom, Australia, China, Japan, the German-speaking world--Germany, Switzerland, and Austria--as well as Italy, New Zealand, and Spain.

Interestingly, the double entry bookkeeping system introduced by Friar Luca Pacioli of Italy is mentioned. His book on this subject was published in Venice, Italy, in 1494, and, over a period of time his principles were adopted worldwide.

Mr. Tsuji, co-editor of this book, also mentions in the preface the excellent maxim advocated by the prominent Chinese philosopher Confucius, who lived before Jesus Christ--"examine old things carefully and comprehend new things progressively."

While CPAs in the U.S. constantly encounter debatable accounting situations, reading this book one is reminded that some of these situations have occurred in other countries over an expansive period of time.

The editors of this book are Atsuo Tsuji, emeritus professor at the Osaka City University, and Paul Garner, professor emeritus at the University of Alabama.

In your reviewer's opinion, this book presents some very interesting reading of accounting developments and situations in a number of countries over a substantial period of time. *