“Accounting for Beer”

The present article attempts to throw some light upon the accounting practices of three medium-sized brewery firms in the Northampton area at the turn of the century, through an examination of their published accounts amplified where the evidence is available, by primary accounting records (ledgers), board minutes and correspondence. ¹ Both ‘financial’ and ‘management’ accounting will be looked at, since a distinction between the two, of doubtful relevance at most times, would be highly artificial for these firms during the three decades preceding the Great War. More than passing attention will be paid to the auditors, not only to discover how they interpreted their duties in a period of minimal statutory guidance, but also because there is some evidence to suggest that they played an important role as financial advisers in many brewery companies.