Management Aspiration and Audit Opinion: Fixed Asset Accounting at the Staveley Coal & Iron Company 1863-1883

In discussing the form and content of published financial statements prior to 1900, J. R. Edwards argues that, in a laissez-faire environment, management is free to choose those accounting principles and practices providing maximum utility, given the goals of the organisation. This paper examines the approach to the problem of choice, in the area of fixed asset accounting and reporting, adopted by the board of directors of the Staveley Coal & Iron Company Limited during the 20-year period following its incorporation in 1863. The paper concludes that substantial freedom of action was available to the directors in this respect in spite of the retention of a prestigious and highly qualified external auditor, plus the engagement, from time to time, of an expert engineering consultant.