This book is concerned with the financial accounting and reporting of publicly owned corporations to their shareholders. It examines the origins of financial accounting and reporting, external influences on accounting and reporting practices as well as the measurement process.

This book explores certain contemporary problems of accounting through the eyes and pens of historians. Many accounting problems are not new ones and it is therefore important to understand their history and development through the ages. This book places twentieth century studies in context and provides clues to possible solutions. The focus of this book is on companies and their financial reports and will be of use to students of economic and business history who wish to provide themselves with an accounting background in relation to the financial reports of companies they may be studying.

The 43 papers in this collection, originally published from 1972 to 1987 delve into accounting, observing and exploring its functioning. They construct a basis for interrogating it in use and indeed they attempt to account for accounting. The author seeks to understand accounting, to appreciate what it is, what it does and how it does it, examining it from without rather than from within.

Corporate Financial Reporting Analysis combines comprehensive coverage and a rigorous approach to modern financial reporting with a readable and accessible style. Merging traditional principles of corporate finance and accepted reporting practices with current models enable the reader to develop essential interpretation and analysis skills, while the emphasis on real-world practicality and methodology provides seamless coverage of both GAAP and IFRS requirements for enhanced global relevance. Two decades of classroom testing among INSEAD MBA students has honed this text to provide the clearest, most comprehensive model for financial statement interpretation and analysis; a concise, logically organized pedagogical framework includes problems, discussion questions, and real-world case studies that illustrate applications and current practices, and in-depth examination of key topics clarifies complex concepts and builds professional intuition. With insightful coverage of revenue recognition, inventory accounting, receivables, long-term assets, M&A, income taxes, and other principle topics, this book provides both education and ongoing reference for MBA students.

These reprints of articles, lectures and talks cover the period 1949 – 1980. They chart the development of the academic subject of accountancy and illustrate some of the matters which were concerning the academics at the London School of Economics at a time when academic accountancy was still in its infancy.

There are introductory analyses by the editor and suggested further readings for discussion or essay papers.