The Debate on Inflation Accounting

First published in 1984, this book gives a historical account of the worldwide development of the theory and practice of inflation accounting (particularly as applied to the financial accounts of corporations). It is a comprehensive account, both in terms of the historical depth and the international breadth of its coverage. The account of the debate in Britain includes the results of original research by the authors, based on interviews and archive material. The book offers important insights not only into the present state and likely future course of the debate on inflation accounting but also into the whole process of setting financial accounting standards. The exposition is kept at a non-technical level wherever possible, but the reader should ideally have the degree of technical expertise which could be acquired by reading the companion volume, Inflation Accounting: an introduction to the debate, by Geoffrey Whittington.

Preface; List of abbreviations; 1. Introduction; Part I. The Debate: 2. Inflation accounting before the Second World War; 3. Developments in inflation accounting from the Second World War to 1974; 4. The contemporary British debate I: the watershed of the CPP experiment, 1973; 5. The contemporary British debate II: the Sandilands Committee and its report (1974–75); 6. The contemporary British debate III: ED18 to SSAP16 (1976–83); 7. Inflation accounting in the USA (1975–80); 8. Inflation accounting in Australiasia; 9. Inflation accounting in other countries; 10. The present state of inflation accounting throughout the world; Part II. Causes and Consequences: 11. Competing systems of accounting for price changes; 12. Particular issues: valuation, capital maintenance and the gain on borrowing; 13. The course of the debate: causes and influences; 14. Accounting standards and the future of the inflation accounting debate; Notes; Bibliography; Indexes.

First published in 1984, this book gives a historical account of the worldwide development of the theory and practice of inflation accounting (particularly as applied to the financial accounts of corporations). It is a comprehensive account, both in terms of the historical depth and the international breadth of its coverage.