MUNICIPAL ACCOUNTING REFORM c. 1900: OHIO'S PROGRESSIVE ACCOUNTANTS

In: Accounting historians journal: a publication of the Academy of Accounting Historians Section of the American Accounting Association, Volume 14, Issue 1, p. 83-94

Abstract

Despite the fact that municipal accounting was a significant and permanent reform of the Progressive era, historians have failed to accord accountants proper credit for their leadership roles. Ohio was an important Progressive state and is particularly suited to an investigation of the contribution made by accountants. Ohio was the first state to require uniform municipal accounting and one of the first to inaugurate budgeting. Municipal research bureaus in major Ohio cities were among the most dynamic in the nation, inspiring important steps forward in cost accounting, budgeting, and the installation of accounting systems. Progressive municipal administrations came to depend increasingly on expert accountants to devise new systems and to audit the results.