The 9th World Congress of Accounting Historians

A total of 115 delegates representing 19 countries attended the 9th World Congress of Accounting Historians that was held at Rydges Riverwalk Hotel, Melbourne between 30 July and 2 August 2002. Delegates commented most favourably on the quality of the papers and the high standard of the presentations

In total, 101 papers were submitted for presentation at the Congress. These papers were authored or co-authored by 138 individuals representing 88 institutions located in 22 countries. Of the 101 papers, 22 were rejected following a thorough peer review process while a further nine papers were withdrawn. Of the 138 authors, 37 of them or 27 per cent were women.

The Congress technical program featured plenary addresses, workshops, panel discussions and parallel presentations sessions. Details of the three stimulating plenary addresses are outlined below:

Lee Parker (University of Adelaide) "Presenting the Past: Perspectives on Time for Accounting History"

Theresa Hammond (Boston College)

"History from Accounting's Margins: International Research on Race and Gender"

Salvador Carmona (Universidad Carlos 111)

"Accounting History Research and its Diffusion in an International Context"

In addition, six workshops were presented on the following Congress themes by the presenters listed:

Professionalisation of Accounting Brian West

Cost and Management Accounting Cheryl McWatters

Financial Reporting and Accounting Regulation Gary Previts

Historiography Wai Fong Chua

Comparative International Accounting History Christopher Napier

Accounting in Social Institutions Steve Walker

Two panel sessions were held. A panel on "Archival Research" comprised Chris Poullaos (Chair), Rick Elam, Dale Flesher and Margaret Lightbody. An ENRON panel comprised Brendan O'Connell (Chair), Frank Clarke, Russell Craig, Barbara Merino, Richard Vangermeersch and Peter Wolnizer.

Many Congress delegates made an optional visit to the Geelong Waterfront Campus of Deakin University to inspect "The Louis Goldberg Collection", a truly significant accounting collection. The collection is available for research and enjoyment to all with an interest in accounting and its development. Its inspection by Congress delegates provided them with an overview of the collection's size, nature, significance and availability. During the lunch which preceded the inspection, Brad Potter of Deakin University presented an informative paper entitled "The Louis Goldberg Collection at Deakin University: Conserving a Lifetime of Scholarly Endeavour".

Congress delegates enjoyed a range of social functions. The Congress dinner was held at the Kooyong Tennis Club, the scene of many titanic struggles of yesteryear in the Australian Open and the Davis Cup. The Old Melbourne Gaol, where the bushranger Ned Kelly was hanged, provided the most atmospheric of night time rendezvous for the Congress reception. The informal welcome reception held at Rydges Riverwalk Hotel gave delegates the opportunity to meet with colleagues, new and old alike, and to relax before the technical program commenced on the following day.

The Congress was hosted and sponsored by Deakin University and was officially opened by Professor Pip Hamilton, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research), Deakin University. Other valued sponsors of the Congress comprised CPA Australia, The Academy of Accounting Historians, Deakin Prime and McGrawHill. The support of all sponsors was much appreciated.

The Congress was organised by the Deakin Organising Committee. Special appreciation for their contribution to the success of the Congress is extended to Gloria Stevenson, Congress Administrator, Peter Foreman, Program Co-ordinator, and Heather Leslie, Administrative Assistant, as well as to other members of the School of Accounting and Finance, past and present, who provided assistance at various times over the preceding two year period. The valuable support of Professor Philip Clarke, Dean, Faculty of Business and Law is also acknowledged with appreciation. Also appreciated was the assistance and support of Gary Previts as Provisional Secretary, Congresses of Accounting Historians.

For the record, extracts from my opening address of 31 July 2002 follow:

Our community is an international community. It is also a community of longstanding. This World Congress of Accounting Historians, the first of the twenty-first century, comes at a time when accounting and auditing are under much scrutiny. The next one hundred years will provide exciting opportunities to expand the influence and scope of accounting history research and thus to augment the international dimensions of accounting's past and present. Conducting research in accounting across both time and space presents itself as a key research theme for further development.

Over one hundred years ago, the accounting profession was seeking to establish the credibility of the subject within universities. After a struggle spanning many decades, accounting is now regarded as a respected university discipline. As a technique gaining increasing recognition as social and institutional practice and through the many students who enrol in the study of accounting, the subject is important in both shaping and financing the operation and development of universities worldwide.

Accounting's quest for credibility within universities embraced a need to demonstrate its long, fascinating history and to engage in the development of accounting theory. While we cannot claim to have succeeded in the latter, the former has advanced immensely. Accounting history, therefore, has been an important determinant in enhancing the status of accounting and of establishing the rich heritage of those who practice it. Future generations of accounting historians will aspire likewise, even if their efforts are only "officially" recognised by a capacity to attract competitive or external research funding.

Following the Enron and WorldCom collapses and other recent instances of accounting and audit failure, the influence of accounting history has become more apparent than ever. Accounting historians have been in demand to conduct research into or comment upon the recent debacles that are shaking the foundations of accounting worldwide. I am aware of colleagues in this room who have either commented on these debacles or who have been invited to contribute books or articles on the subject. Some months ago, I was invited by a Wall Street Journal reporter to provide (and I quote) "some historical perspective on how the once noble field [of accounting] fell from grace, and some of the key milestones". Accounting history has perhaps never been more relevant and significant than it is today.

The 10th World Congress of Accounting Historians will be held at St. Louis during 1-5 August 2004. This Congress will mark the centenary of the First International Congress of Accountants that was held in St. Louis in 1904. Thereafter, world congresses will continue to be conducted on a biennial basis.