ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the development and current status of accounting history as a sub-discipline. In particular, it examines the emergence of disciplinary organisations for accounting historians, the increasing number of conferences on the subject, the growth in accounting history publications and the pedagogical claims advanced by advocates of accounting history education. The chapter begins by discussing the expansion of accounting history research, locating its disciplinary territory and exploring some of the features which define the 'academic tribe' of accounting historians. Whereas accounting historians have frequently been compelled to legitimate their research by illustrating its relevance to modern day accounting issues and policy making, as in history, good accounting history is increasingly recognised as meritorious when it advances understandings and encourages debate about the past. The journal had a particular focus on histories that explained modern structures and practices and assisted in the search for solutions to modern-day accounting problems.
