ABSTRACT
THE purpose of this article is to examine some of the ways in which the work of Captain Mark Huish, who was General Manager of the London & North Western Railway from 1846 to 1858, encouraged the development of improved techniques in railway management. Initially, the railway companies did not show themselves to be masters of the management problems which confronted them. This was particularly evident in the 1820's and 1830's, when working efficiency was hindered by the lack of systematic account-keeping, an uncertain attitude towards cost accountancy, and a shortage of trained administrative staff. There was little in a company's Act of Authorization to guide it, either in the keeping of accounts, or in the determination of profits. 2 Great difficulty surrounded such problems as the allocation of expenditure between capital and revenue accounts, and the nature of depreciation. It was not sufficient for a railway with heavy capital investment to calculate profits merely by matching cash receipts and expenses, delaying provision for deterioration and obsolescence until replacement became necessary. The crude cash accounting methods employed by eighteenth century business were clearly unsuitable. 3 And yet the early railways produced only the most rudimentary of accounts and displayed little or no interest in the implications for future costs of extensive capital formation. There was immense variety in accounting practices, and, indeed, misleading statements were often issued to prevent inter-company comparison and to encourage continuing investment.
