ABSTRACT
The single most significant component of the British Industrial Revolution was the mechanisation of the cotton industry and the increased productivity that ensued. Having long taken a back seat to woollens, cotton underwent an expansion in the last two decades of the eighteenth century that was to leave it the undisputed leader amongst Britain's textile trades. Finished cotton goods became the most important export in the nation's foreign commerce. The highly competitive nature of the textile trades mandated careful attention to product costing as well as expense control. However, the preparation of production reports and the allocation of overhead to products as necessary prerequisites to purposeful product costing represent a quantum leap in terms of the degree of sophistication reflected by the accounting. A major technological decision for textile firms in the 1820s and 1830s was whether or not to adopt the new powerloom.
