2. Chapter 1
Sejarah dan
pengembangan
akuntansi

3. Awal sejarah Akuntansi
 There is evidence of double entry
accounting in many early civilisations:
− Chaldean–Babylonian
− Assyrian
− Sumerian
− Egyptian
− Chinese
− Greek
− Roman

4. Awal sejarah Akuntansi
 C. Littleton’s seven preconditions for the
emergence of systematic bookkeeping
are:
− the art of writing
− arithmetic
− private property
− money
− credit
− commerce
− capital

5. Origins of double-entry
accounting
 Also known as ‘Italian bookkeeping’ because it
was promulgated by Italian traders
 First-known double-entry accounting books are
those of Massari of Genoa in 1340
 Luca Pacioli, a Franciscan friar, is credited with
introducing double-entry bookkeeping because
his is the first published discussion on the topic
(1494), in which:
 he described the use of debits and credits to
secure a double entry
 he advised the computation of a periodic profit
and the closing of the books

6. Cushing’s 11 developments
1. Introduction of specific journals
2. Periodic financial statements
3. Double-entry system extended to other types
of organisations, e.g. monasteries, the State
4. Separate inventory accounts for different types
of goods
5. Accounting acquired a better status,
characterised by:
 need to inform absentee investors
 need for auditing
 need for cost accounting
 reliance on concepts of continuity, periodicity
and accrual

7. Cushing’s 11 developments (cont’d)
6. Evolution of three methods of treating fixed
assets by the 18th century
7. Development of depreciation methods from
1915 onwards
8. Emergence of cost accounting in the 19th
century
9. Development of techniques of accounting for
prepayments and accruals in the second part
of the 19th century
10. Development of fund statements (late 19th
and 20th centuries)
11. Development of accounting methods for
complex issues

8. Pengembangan prisnsip-
prinsip Akuntansi
 Management contribution phase (1900–33):
− management had complete control over the
selection of financial information disclosed
in annual reports
 Institution contribution phase (1933–46) and
professional contribution phase (1959–73):
− professional bodies played a significant role
in developing principles
 Overt politicisation phase (1973–present):
− movement towards a politicisation of
accounting

9. Pase Kontribusi Manajemen
(1900–33)
 Characterised by ad hoc solutions to
urgent problems and controversies
 Lack of theoretical support
 Focus on minimisation of income
taxes
 Smoothing of earnings
 Complex problems avoided in favour
of expedient solutions

10. Pase Kontribusi Manajemen
(1900–33)
Significant influences of the period
 Interest as a cost controversy:
− the need to invest large amounts of
capital for long periods increased
overhead
− the inclusion of overhead in product
cost became an issue
 Growing effect of taxation of business
income

11. Pase Kontribusi Manajemen
(1900–33)
Arguments for improvement in
standards of financial reporting
 From 1900, New York Stock Exchange
required corporations to publish annual
financial statements
 Calls for protection of investors
 Board of Examiners established in 1917
to create a uniform certified practising
accountant (CPA) examination

12. Pase Kontribusi Institusi
(1933–46)
 Increasing role of institutions on development of
accounting principles:
− creation of the Securities and Exchange
Commission to administer federal investment
laws
− emergence of accounting principles
− companies were permitted to choose their
accounting methods but had to disclose them
− Committee on Accounting Procedure (CAP)
began issuing accounting research bulletins
(ARBs) in 1938

13. Pase Kontribusi Profesional
(1959–73)
 Establishment of the Accounting Principles
Board (APB) and the Accounting Research
Division
 The APB was unsuccessful and was
criticised for being over-dependent on
professional associations:
− no established theoretical framework
− authority of its statements not clear-cut
− alternative treatments allowed flexibility
in the choice of accounting techniques

14. Overt politicisation phase
(1973–present)
 Development of a theoretical
framework
 Emergence of various interest groups
 Metcalf report released:
− charged that US ‘big eight’
accounting firms monopolise the
auditing of large corporations and
control the standard-setting process
− made recommendations aimed at
enhancing corporate accountability

15. History of accounting in
Australia
 Same major phases as US accounting
 For much of the 19th century, most
colonies adopted the British model of
companies legislation
 Sydney Stock Exchange (SSE) also
influenced accounting practices:
− from 1925, SSE demanded publication
of balance sheets and profit-and-loss
accounts
− such disclosures sometimes preceded
legislation by many years

16. Institutional contribution
phase in Australia
 Professional opinions on the general
principles of accounting practice were
released in 1937
 The Commonwealth Institute of
Accountants (CIA) appointed a Committee
on Accounting Principles (CAP) in 1938
 The Institute of Chartered Accountants in
Australia (ICAA) issued the first in a series
of Recommended Accounting Principles in
1944

17. Institutional contribution phase in
Australia (cont’d)
 Corporate collapses and the 1960s mining share
boom meant a regulatory agency was required to
protect investors:
1974: The Interstate Corporate Affairs
Commission was created to bring about
uniformity in state companies legislation
1979: The National Companies and Securities
Commission (NCSC) was established
1981: All states adopted the Commonwealth
Companies Act
1989: The Australian Securities Commission
(ASC) was created to replace the NCSE

18. Professional contribution phase
in Australia
 In the 1960s, the ICAA created several
research committees on accounting
principles
 In 1965, the Accounting Research
Foundation was established by the two
accounting bodies, and:
− was responsible for creating
accounting standards in Australia
− contributed to the development of a
conceptual framework

19. Politicisation of accounting
phase in Australia
 Corporate collapses of the 1960s led to the
introduction of legislation to regulate
accounting:
1983: Companies and Securities
Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments)
Act 1983 (Cth) required companies to
comply with ASRB-approved accounting
standards
1991: Australian Accounting Standards
Board (AASB) was established

20. Link between accounting
and capitalism
 The Sombart thesis argues that double-entry
bookkeeping has contributed to the development
of capitalism because:
− it permits the capitalist entrepreneur to plan,
predict and measure the impact of their
activities
− the separation of owners and business allows
the growth of the corporation
 Yamey argues that double-entry bookkeeping
was originally used only as a record of
transactions – not to keep track of profits and
capital