This book, first published in 1988, is a study of the development of accounting in eighteenth century Scotland. The investigation is organised around a survey of early Scottish accounting texts, an analysis of their exposition of the Italian method of book-keeping and their treatment of certain selected topics. The aim is to evaluate the contribution that these Scottish accountants made to the development of a profession.

In the early eighteenth century, the household accountant was traditionally female. Socio-linguistic acts of feminized accounting are examined alongside property, originality, and the development of the early novel.