This book examines the conceptual development of control in the literature of both management and accounting disciplines, from 1900 to 1980. In order to portray the development of control concepts over time, the chapters are organized into sections relating to the schools of thought from which they emanated and a model of control is constructed to represent each group of concepts and their hypothesised inter-relationships. Having traced the development of control models a comparative analysis of historical development in the two streams of management and accounting literature is undertaken. This analysis reveals a pronounced lag of accounting development behind that of management literature. The reasons for this are then discussed.

This book is a resource book for the comprehensive study of the development of accounting thought. It is designed to facilitate the study of the original works and stimulate further study of important accounting theory forbears. It covers: accounting theory accounting concepts of profit financial accounting and the foundations of accounting measurement accounting evaluation and economic behaviour.

This paper surveys key developments in accounting regulation theory over the twentieth century. The position is advanced that this project remains a work-in-progress that deserves the status of a key objective of accounting theoretical research. The nature of theoretical coherence is addressed, along with a case made for the desirability of a coherent theory of accounting regulation. The postulates of a coherent theory of accounting regulation are described and justified. Some preliminary indications are provided about the potential implications of the described coherent theory of accounting regulation. The undertaking is more circumscribed that Mattesich's (1995) development of a coherent theory of accounting and, therefore, more achievable.