What is it about?
Two important US Enlightenment figures--Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton--had very different views about the relationship between citizens and their government. These views have influenced the set-up and running of American institutions, including the SEC and ICC. Accounting has played a role as it has been used as a way of monitoring compliance with regulations.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
Though historians have long talked about the different perspectives of Jefferson and Hamilton and their influence on American government, we are the first to discuss these views in terms of influencing the use of accounting. Accounting is used differently by the ICC and SEC because they follow different models of the relationship between the citizen and government.
Perspectives
This was a project of discovery for me, and I appreciate the editors of Accounting History asking authors to think about connections between the Enlightenment and accounting. The form that institutions take is not predetermined--ideology counts. This is an interesting example on the ways that differences in ideology can influence the design and practices of institutions.
Deirdre Collier
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Enlightenment’s connections to two US accounting-based regulatory models, Accounting History, July 2018, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1032373218787296.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
