ABSTRACT
This chapter is a second case study of a British Industrial Revolution firm whose archive reflects a cost accounting sophistication virtually unparallelled in the period. The chapter provides an historical analysis of another leading Industrial Revolution enterprise, Boulton & Watt (B&W), addressing its accounting from somewhat differing perspectives and focusing attention particularly on labour and engine standards. The chapter represents a collaborative effort between accounting historians who represent divergent paradigmatic viewpoints—the Neoclassical and the Foucauldian. The chapter aims to identify some major differences between the approaches; to argue how historical evidence may count in support of one or the other perspectives; to explore how an individual case in accounting history may be understood within each context; and to offer a categorisation of these two approaches that identifies the key issues for further research in understanding the development and significance of early industrial cost management and accounting practices.
