ABSTRACT

The development of accounting in the United States is a rich and colorful elaboration that has been the subject of many books and monographs. As such, providing the main junctures in its history is no easy task, given the influences of education, politics, and practice. This chapter will attempt to provide the main highlights of such a development, given that a more nuanced study cannot be confined within the pages allotted. In addition, I will also dwell on the contributions of three key figures in shaping modern accounting thought: George O. May, A.W. Paton, and A. C. Littleton. These personas have been deemed, time and time again, to have been key voices in determining accounting as it is known today, both in the United States and, with the overreach of the U.S. industrial might, globally. The next sections will briefly discuss the critical junctures in the development of accounting in the United States, with a discussion of the major milestones, the influence of regulatory structures, and the role of private bodies. Finally, I proceed to discuss the contributions of G. O. May, A. C. Littleton, and A. W. Paton, especially Paton and Littleton’s (1940) seminal work, “An Introduction to Corporate Accounting Standards.” Although the advent of accounting followed an organic process with an amalgamation of various influences, I try to delineate them (as much as possible) into various sections for the ease of readability and exposition.