ABSTRACT
Accounting has many diverse forms today, but these can trace their origins to a common historical basis: bookkeeping, and in particular the method of double-entry. This method has justly been called “the Italian method” as it emerged in Italy, was first promulgated in printed form by an Italian, Luca Pacioli, and spread through Europe as a result of Italian influence (Besta 1922; Littleton 1933; Melis 1950). However, despite this common foundation, accounting has developed in various countries along different paths, appealing to quite diverse theoretical approaches. Lack of awareness of the theories underpinning accounting in specific countries leads to a failure to communicate and makes it difficult to identify a common context for the whole discipline of accounting. This is quite likely due to several factors such as the relationship between law and economy and, not least, the average small-scale dimension of the European firm with its typical one-family ownership.
