ABSTRACT

This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book suggests that the study of British Industrial Revolution costing history has yielded an array of insights that challenge our preconceptions concerning the antecedents of contemporary cost management practices. Based upon an extensive examination of extant archival sources, we have presented a macro-environmental perspective of Industrial Revolution cost accounting and cost management practices. This investigation has disclosed a number of organizations across a variety of industries exhibiting practices varying from the rudimentary to what could, from a contemporary perspective, be considered quite sophisticated. The book considers a number of lines of enquiry: industry studies; firm case studies; an examination of the relationship between costing and technological change; and a consideration of the perspectives yielded by differing theoretical and methodological paradigms. It contributes a revision of historical knowledge concerning the foundations and contexts of cost accounting and cost management practices.