Professor Richard Edwards

Emeritus Professor

Background

Before entering academe I qualified as a chartered accountant in the London office of Cooper Brothers & Co. (now PwC). While training as an accountant I took the exams of the Chartered Institute of Taxation and was admitted as an associate member in 1971.

Research Interests

My research interests embrace various aspects of accounting history with a particular focus on the following subject areas: double entry bookkeeping; management accounting; corporate financial reporting; and professionalisation of the accounting craft. I have published widely in academic journals including

Abacus
Accounting & Business Research
Accounting Historians Journal
Accounting History Review,
Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal
Accounting, Organizations & Society
British Accounting Review
Business History
Critical Perspectives in Accounting
European Accounting Review
Economic History Review
Financial Accountability & Management
Journal of Accounting & Public Policy
Journal of Business Finance & Accounting
Management Accounting Review

I have also reached out to the wider public with numerous short articles in professional journals.

Book publications include:

A History of Corporate Financial Reporting and Britain (2019),
A History of Financial Accounting (1989)
A History of Management Accounting. The British Experience (2013, with Trevor Boyns)
The Birth of Industrial Accounting in France and Britain (1997, with Trevor Boyns and Marc Nikitin)
The Priesthood of Industry (1998, with Derek Matthews and Malcolm Anderson)
The Routledge Companion to Accounting History (2020, edited with Stephen P. Walker)

Funding for my research has been provided by: the Social Science Research Council, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, the Economic & Social Research Council, and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland.

I sit on the editorial advisory board of Accounting & Business Research, the editorial advisory panel of Accounting History and the editorial boards of Abacus, Accounting History Review and The Accounting Historians Journal.

Teaching

I have taught numerous courses on corporate financial reporting, taxation and auditing during the course of his career. He presently teaches an undergraduate course entitled Development of Accounting.

2020

Edwards, J. R. 2020. Subjects, sources and dissemination. In: Edwards, J. R. and Walker, S. P. eds. The Routledge Companion to Accounting History, second edition. [The Routledge Companion to Accounting History]. Routledge Companions Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 54-76., (10.4324/9781351238885-3)
Edwards, J. R. and Walker, S. P. eds. 2020. The Routledge companion to accounting history. second edition. Routledge Companions. Abingdon: Routledge. (10.4324/9781351238885)

2019

Edwards, J. R. 2019. A history of corporate financial reporting in Britain. Routledge studies in accounting. New York and London: Routledge. (10.4324/9781315148441)
Edwards, J. R. 2019. Accounting for the erosion of fixed assets 1863-1900. A case study. Accounting History Review 29(2), pp. 287-304. (10.1080/21552851.2019.1590892)

2018

Edwards, J. R. 2018. Towards constructing the governable worker in nineteenth-century Britain. Critical Perspectives On Accounting 50, pp. 36-55. (10.1016/j.cpa.2017.05.001)

2016

Boyns, T. and Edwards, J. 2016. The advent of double entry based costing practices in the British engineering industry: Ransomes of Ipswich, 1856-1863. Accounting History Review 26(3), pp. 171-190. (10.1080/21552851.2016.1218958)
Edwards, J. R. 2016. Whinney and Waterhouse's government assignment 1887-1888: a study of its significance. Accounting Historians Journal 43(1), pp. 1-32. (10.2308/0148-4184.43.1.1)
Black, J. and Edwards, J. R. 2016. Accounting careers traversing the separate spheres of business and government in Victorian Britain. Accounting History 21(2-3), pp. 306-328. (10.1177/1032373216641436)
Edwards, J. R. 2016. Asset valuation, profit measurement and path dependence in Britain to 1800. British Accounting Review 48(1), pp. 87-101. (10.1016/j.bar.2014.10.009)

2015

Edwards, J. R. 2015. Accounting for fair competition between private and public sector armaments manufacturers in Victorian Britain. Abacus 51(3), pp. 412-436. (10.1111/abac.12055)
Edwards, J. R. 2015. The method of book-keeping, deduced from clear principles. Accounting and Business Research 45(2), pp. 256-277. (10.1080/00014788.2014.978255)
Edwards, J. R. 2015. History of financial accounting theory in Britain. In: Jones, S. ed. Routledge Companion to Financial Accounting Theory. Taylor & Francis, pp. 12-38.

2014

Edwards, J. R. 2014. 'Different from What Has Hitherto Appeared on this Subject': John Clark, writing master and accomptant, 1738. Abacus 50(2), pp. 227-244. (10.1111/j.1467-6281.2012.00375.x)
Edwards, J. R. 2014. A history of financial accounting. Routledge Library Editions: Accounting Vol. 29. London: Routledge.

2013

Edwards, J. R., Dean, G., Clarke, F. and Wolnizer, P. 2013. Accounting academic elites: the tale of ARIA. Accounting Organizations and Society 38(5), pp. 365-381. (10.1016/j.aos.2013.07.001)
Clarke, F., Dean, G. and Edwards, J. R. 2013. An historical perspective from the work of Chambers. In: Jack, L., Davison, J. and Craig, R. eds. The Routledge Companion to Accounting Communication. Routledge companions in business, management and accounting London: Routledge, pp. 26-41.

2012

Edwards, J. R. and Boyns, T. 2012. A history of management accounting: The British experience. Routledge New Works in Accounting History. Abingdon: Routledge.

2011

Edwards, J. R. 2011. Accounting education in Britain during the early modern period. Accounting History Review 21(1), pp. 37-67. (10.1080/21552851.2011.548544)
Edwards, J. R. and Anderson, M. 2011. Writing masters and accountants in England: A study of occupation, status and ambition in the early modern period. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 24(6), pp. 685-717. (10.1108/09513571111155519)
Edwards, J. R. 2011. Professionalising British central government bureaucracy c. 1850: the accounting dimension. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy 30(3), pp. 217-235. (10.1016/j.jaccpubpol.2011.02.001)

2010

Edwards, J. R. and Walker, S. P. 2010. Lifestyle, status and occupational differentiation in Victorian accountancy. Accounting, Organizations and Society 35(1), pp. 2-22. (10.1016/j.aos.2009.01.002)
Edwards, J. R. 2010. Researching the absence of professional organisation in Victorian England. Accounting Business & Financial History 20(2), pp. 177-208. (10.1080/09585206.2010.485748)

2009

Edwards, J. R. 2009. A business education for 'the middling sort of people' in mercantilist Britain. The British Accounting Review 41(4), pp. 240-255. (10.1016/j.bar.2009.10.004)
Edwards, J. R., Dean, G. and Clarke, F. 2009. Merchants' accounts, performance assessment and decision making in mercantilist Britain. Accounting Organizations and Society 34(5), pp. 551-570. (10.1016/j.aos.2008.09.001)
Edwards, J. R. 2009. ICSA study text in financial accounting. 6th ed.. Abingdon: ICSA.

2008

Edwards, J. R. 2008. Subjects, sources and dissemination. In: Edwards, J. R. and Walker, S. P. eds. The Routledge companion to accounting history. Routledge companions in business, management and accounting Abingdon: Taylor & Francis/Routledge, pp. 50-69.
Edwards, J. R. and Walker, S. P. 2008. Introduction : Synthesis and engagement. In: Edwards, J. R. and Walker, S. P. eds. The Routledge companion to accounting history. Abingdon: Routledge, pp. 1-8.
Chandler, R. A., Edwards, J. R. and Anderson, M. 2008. Disciplinary action against members of the founding bodies of the ICAEW. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 21(6), pp. 827-849. (10.1108/09513570810893263)
Edwards, J. R. and Walker, S. P. 2008. Occupational differentiation and exclusion in early Canadian accountancy. Accounting and Business Research 38(5), pp. 373-391. (10.1080/00014788.2008.9665772)
Noguchi, M. and Edwards, J. R. 2008. Harmonising intergroup relations within a professional body: the case of the ICAEW. The British Accounting Review 40(2), pp. 123-147. (10.1016/j.bar.2008.01.007)
Edwards, J. R. and Walker, S. P. eds. 2008. The Routledge companion to accounting history. London: Routledge.

2007

Edwards, J. R. and Walker, S. P. 2007. Accountants in the British census. The Accounting Historians Journal 34(2), pp. 43-74.
Anderson, M., Chandler, R. A. and Edwards, J. R. 2007. "A public expert in matters of account": defining the chartered accountant in England and Wales. Accounting Business & Financial History 17(3), pp. 381-423. (10.1080/09585200701609588)
Edwards, J. R. 2007. Abbott, Peter Harriss (1774/5–1850). In: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, (10.1093/ref:odnb/58715)
Anderson, M., Edwards, J. R. and Chandler, R. A. 2007. From ridicule to respect. Careers in Accountancy - Asian Voice & Gujarat Samachar July, pp. 10.
Edwards, J. R., Anderson, M. and Chandler, R. A. 2007. Claiming a jurisdiction for the 'Public Accountant' in England prior to organisational fusion. Accounting Organizations and Society 32(1-2), pp. 61-100. (10.1016/j.aos.2005.12.006)
Edwards, J. R. and Walker, S. P. 2007. Accountants in late 19th century Britain: a spatial, demographic and occupational profile. Accounting and Business Research 37(1), pp. 63-89.
Anderson, M., Edwards, J. R. and Chandler, R. A. 2007. Focus on … history ICAEW: From ridicule to respect. Accountancy 140(1367), pp. 117.
Edwards, J. R. 2007. Impairment reviews: Theory and practice. Student Accountant, pp. 52-55.

2006

Boyns, T., Edwards, J. R. and Nikitin, M. 2006. The development of industrial accounting in Britain and France before 1880. In: Fleischman, R. ed. Accounting History., Vol. 1. SAGE Library in Business and Management London: SAGE, pp. 326-364.
Edwards, J. R. and Newell, E. 2006. The development of industrial cost and management accounting in Great Britain before 1850. In: Fleischman, R. ed. Accounting History., Vol. 1. SAGE Library in Business and Management Sage, pp. 209-229.
Boyns, T. and Edwards, J. R. 2006. The development of cost and management accounting in Britain. In: Chapman, C. S., Hopwood, A. G. and Shields, M. D. eds. Handbook of Management Accounting Research., Vol. 2. Amsterdam: Elsevier, pp. 969-1034., (10.1016/S1751-3243(06)02020-7)

2005

Anderson, M., Edwards, J. R. and Chandler, R. A. 2005. Constructing the 'Well Qualified' Chartered Accountant in England and Wales. Accounting Historians Journal 32(2), pp. 5-54.
Edwards, J. R. 2005. Accounting and accounting practices. In: McCusker, J. J. ed. History of World Trade since 1450., Vol. 1. Farmington Hills, USA: Macmillan Reference USA, pp. 1-3.
Edwards, J. R., Anderson, M. and Chandler, R. A. 2005. How Not to Mount a Professional Project: the Formation of the ICAEW in 1880. Accounting and Business Research 35(3), pp. 229-248.
Anderson, M., Edwards, J. R. and Chandler, R. A. 2005. A public expert in matters of account: Defining the chartered accountant in England and Wales. Presented at: 4th Accounting History International Conference, Braga, Portugal, 7-9 September 2005.
Edwards, J. R. 2005. Professor David Flint. In: Walker, S. P. ed. Giving An Account: Life Histories of Four CAs. Edinburgh: Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, pp. 55-111.

2004

Noguchi, M. and Edwards, J. R. 2004. Corporatism and unavoidable imperatives: recommendations on accounting principles and the ICAEW Memorandum to the Cohen Committee. The Accounting Historians Journal 31(2), pp. 53-95.
Noguchi, M. and Edwards, J. R. 2004. Accounting Principles, Internal Conflict and the State: The Case of the ICAEW, 1948-1966. Abacus 40(3), pp. 280-320. (10.1111/j.1467-6281.2004.00160.x)
Edwards, J. R. 2004. Paula, Frederic Rudolph Mackley de (1882-1954). In: Matthew, H. C. G. and Harrison, B. eds. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography., Vol. 43. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 145-146., (10.1093/ref:odnb/46874)
Edwards, J. R. 2004. McLintock, Sir William, first baronet (1873-1947). In: Matthew, H. C. G. and Harrison, B. eds. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography., Vol. 35. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 834-836., (10.1093/ref:odnb/34790)
Edwards, J. R. 2004. Plender, William, Baron Plender (1861-1946). In: Matthew, H. C. G. and Harrison, B. eds. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography., Vol. 44. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 575-576., (10.1093/ref:odnb/35542)
Edwards, J. R. 2004. Quilter, William (1808-1888). In: Matthew, H. C. G. and Harrison, B. eds. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography., Vol. 45. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 688-689., (10.1093/ref:odnb/48129)
Edwards, J. R. 2004. Smallpeice, Sir Basil (1906-1992). In: Matthew, H. C. G. and Harrison, B. eds. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography., Vol. 50. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 958-959., (10.1093/ref:odnb/51318)
Edwards, J. R. 2004. Tait, Andrew Wilson (1876-1930). In: Matthew, H. C. G. and Harrison, B. eds. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography., Vol. 53. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 650-651., (10.1093/ref:odnb/47710)
Edwards, J. R. 2004. Touche, Sir George Alexander, first baronet (1861-1935). In: Matthew, H. C. G. and Harrison, B. eds. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography., Vol. 55. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 76., (10.1093/ref:odnb/47822)
Boyns, T., Matthews, M. and Edwards, J. R. 2004. The Development of Costing in the British Chemical Industry, c. 1870 â€“ c. 1940. Accounting and Business Research 34(1), pp. 3-24.
Edwards, J. R. 2004. Benson, Henry Alexander, Baron Benson (1909-1995). In: Matthew, H. C. G. and Harrison, B. eds. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography., Vol. 5. Oxford University Press, pp. 185-187., (10.1093/ref:odnb/67861)
Edwards, J. R. 2004. Cooper family (per. 1854-1994). In: Matthew, H. C. G. and Harrison, B. H. eds. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography., Vol. 13. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 193-195., (10.1093/ref:odnb/59176)
Edwards, J. R. 2004. Dickinson, Sir Arthur Lowes (1859-1935). In: Matthew, H. C. G. and Harrison, B. eds. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography., Vol. 16. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 87-88., (10.1093/ref:odnb/46880)
Edwards, J. R. 2004. Dicksee, Lawrence Robert (1864-1932). In: Matthew, H. C. G. and Harrison, B. eds. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography., Vol. 16. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 110-111., (10.1093/ref:odnb/47778)
Edwards, J. R. 2004. Lever, Sir (Samuel) Hardman, baronet (1869-1947). In: Matthew, H. C. G. and Harrison, B. eds. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography., Vol. 33. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 522., (10.1093/ref:odnb/34505)
Coombs, H. M. and Edwards, J. R. 2004. The audit of municipal corporations - a quest for professional dominance. Managerial Auditing Journal 19(1), pp. 68-83. (10.1108/02686900410509820)

2003

Edwards, J. R. 2003. Where they came from. Accountancy 131(1318), pp. 58-60.
Edwards, J. R., Boyns, T. and Matthews, M. 2003. Costing, pricing and politics in the British steel industry, 1918-1967. Management Accounting Research 14(1), pp. 25-49. (10.1016/S1044-5005(02)00033-1)
Matthews, M., Boyns, T. and Edwards, J. R. 2003. Chandlerian image or mirror image? managerial and accounting control in the chemical industry: the case of Albright & Wilson, c.1892 to c.1923. Business History 45(4), pp. 24-52. (10.1080/00076790312331270209)
Edwards, J. R. and Greener, H. T. 2003. Introducing 'mercantile' bookkeeping into British central government, 1828-1844. Accounting and Business Research 33(1), pp. 51-64. (10.1080/00014788.2003.9729631)
Carnegie, G. D., Edwards, J. R. and West, B. P. 2003. Understanding the dynamics of the Australian accounting profession: A prosopographical study of the founding members of the Incorporated Institute of Accountants, Victoria, 1886 to 1908. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 16(5), pp. 790-820. (10.1108/09513570310505998)

2002

Edwards, J. R., Coombs, H. M. and Greener, H. T. 2002. British central government and "the mercantile system of double entry" bookkeeping: a study of ideological conflict. Accounting, Organizations and Society 27(7), pp. 637-658. (10.1016/S0361-3682(01)00060-5)
Edwards, J. R., Boyns, T. and Matthews, M. 2002. Standard costing and budgetary control in the British iron and steel industry: a study of accounting change. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 15(1), pp. 12-45. (10.1108/09513570210418879)
Marriott, P., Edwards, J. R. and Mellett, H. J. 2002. Introduction to accounting. 3rd ed.. Accounting and Finance Series. London: Sage.

2001

Edwards, J. R. 2001. Accounting regulation and the professionalization process: an historical essay concerning the significance of P. H. Abbott. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 12(6), pp. 675-696. (10.1006/cpac.2000.0453)
Edwards, J. R. and Carnegie, G. D. 2001. The construction of the professional accountant: the case of the Incorporated Institute of Accountants, Victoria (1886). Accounting, Organizations and Society 26(4-5), pp. 301-325. (10.1016/S0361-3682(00)00039-8)
Edwards, J. R. and Chandler, R. A. 2001. Contextualizing the process of accounting regulation: a study of nineteenth-century British Friendly Societies. Abacus 37(2), pp. 188-216. (10.1111/1467-6281.00083)

2000

Boyns, R. E., Boyns, T. and Edwards, J. R. 2000. Historical accounting records: A guide for archivists and researchers. London: Society of Archivists.
Edwards, J. R. ed. 2000. The history of accounting: Critical perspectives on business and management (4 vols). Critical Perspectives on Business and Management. London: Routledge.
Boyns, T. and Edwards, J. R. 2000. Pluralistic approaches to knowing more: a comment on Hoskin and Macve. The Accounting Historians Journal 27(1), pp. 151-158.

1999

Boyns, T., Edwards, J. R. and Emmaneil, C. 1999. A longitudinal study of the determinants of transfer pricing change. Management Accounting Research 10(2), pp. 85-108. (10.1006/mare.1998.0093)
Edwards, J. R., Chandler, R. A. and Anderson, M. 1999. The 'public auditor': an experiment in effective accountability. Accounting and Business Research 29(3), pp. 93-105. (10.1080/00014788.1999.9729579)

1998

Matthews, D., Anderson, M. and Edwards, J. R. 1998. The priesthood of industry: the rise of the professional accountant in British management. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

1997

Boyns, T. and Edwards, J. R. 1997. Cost and management accounting in early Victorian Britain: a Chandleresque analysis?. Management Accounting Research 8(1), pp. 19-46. (10.1006/mare.1996.0032)
Boyns, T. and Edwards, J. R. 1997. The construction of cost accounting systems in Britain to 1900: the case of the coal, iron and steel industries. Business History 39(3), pp. 1-29. (10.1080/00076799700000097)
Boyns, T. and Edwards, J. R. 1997. British cost and management accounting theory and practice, c.1850-c.1950; resolved and unresolved issues. Business and Economic History 26(2), pp. 452-462.
Boyns, T., Edwards, J. R. and Nikitin, M. 1997. The development of industrial accounting in Britain and France before 1880: a comparative study of accounting literature and practice. European Accounting Review 6(3), pp. 393-437. (10.1080/713764730)
Matthews, D., Anderson, M. and Edwards, J. R. 1997. The rise of the professional accountant in British management. Economic History Review 50(3), pp. 407-429. (10.1111/1468-0289.00062)
Anderson, M., Edwards, J. R. and Matthews, D. 1997. Accountability in a Free Market Economy. The British Company Audit 1886. Abacus 33(1), pp. 1-25. (10.1111/1467-6281.00001)
Edwards, J. R., Carnegie, G. D. and Cauberg, J. H. 1997. The Incorporated Institute of Accountants, Victoria (1886): a study of founders' backgrounds. In: Cooke, T. E. and Nobes, C. W. eds. The Development of Accounting in an International Context. A Festschrift in Honour of R.H.Parker. London: Routledge, pp. 49-67.
Boyns, T., Edwards, J. R. and Nikitin, M. 1997. The birth of industrial accounting in France and Britain. New York, NY: Garland Publishing.
Coombs, H. M., Edwards, J. R. and Greener, H. eds. 1997. Double entry bookkeeping in British central government, 1822-1856. New York, NY: Garland Publishing.

1996

Boyns, T. and Edwards, J. R. 1996. Change agents and the dissemination of accounting technology: Wales' basic industries, c.1750-c.1870. Accounting History 1(1), pp. 9-34. (10.1177/103237329600100102)
Boyns, T. and Edwards, J. R. 1996. The development of accounting in mid-nineteenth century Britain: a non-disciplinary view. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal 9(3), pp. 40-60. (10.1108/09513579610121974)
Coombs, H. M. and Edwards, J. R. 1996. Accounting Innovation: the case of Municipal Corporations 1833-1935. New York, NY: Garland Publishing.
Boyns, T., Anderson, M. and Edwards, J. R. eds. 1996. British cost accounting 1887-1952. Contemporary essays from the accounting literature. New York, NY: Garland Publishing.
Chandler, R. A. and Edwards, J. R. 1996. Recurring issues in auditing: back to the future?. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 9(2), pp. 4-29. (10.1108/09513579610116330)

1995

Edwards, J. R., Boyns, T. and Anderson, M. 1995. British cost accounting development: Continuity and change. The Accounting Historians Journal 22(2), pp. 1-41.
Boyns, T. and Edwards, J. R. 1995. Editorial. Accounting Business & Financial History 5(1), pp. 1-2. (10.1080/09585209500000028)
Boyns, T. and Edwards, J. R. 1995. Accounting systems and decision-making in the mid-Victorian period: the case of the Consett Iron Company. Business History 37(3), pp. 28-51. (10.1080/00076799500000089)
Coombs, H. M. and Edwards, J. R. 1995. The financial reporting practices of British municipal corporations 1835-1933: A study in accounting innovation. Accounting and Business Research 25(98), pp. 93-105. (10.1080/00014788.1995.9729932)

1994

Edwards, J. R. and Boyns, T. 1994. Accounting practice and business finance: some case studies from the iron and coal industry 1865-1914. Journal of Business Finance & Accounting 21(8), pp. 1151-1178. (10.1111/j.1468-5957.1994.tb00369.x)
Edwards, J. R. and Yamey, B. S. eds. 1994. From clay tokens to Fukushiki-Boki: record keeping over ten millenia. London: Routledge.
Edwards, J. R. ed. 1994. Twentieth-century accounting thinkers. London: Routledge.
Chandler, R. A. and Edwards, J. R. eds. 1994. British audit practice 1884-1900. New York, NY: Garland Publishing.
Chandler, R. A. and Edwards, J. R. eds. 1994. Recurring issues in auditing: professional debate 1875-1900. New Works in Accounting History. New York: Garland Publishing.

1993

Edwards, J. R. and Coombs, H. M. 1993. The accountability of municipal corporations. Abacus 29(1), pp. 27-51. (10.1111/j.1467-6281.1993.tb00420.x)
Chandler, R. A., Edwards, J. R. and Anderson, M. 1993. Changing perceptions of the role of the company auditor. Accounting and Business Research 23(92), pp. 443-459. (10.1080/00014788.1993.9729890)

1992

Coombs, H. M. and Edwards, J. R. 1992. Capital accounting in municipal corporations 1884-1914: theory and practice. Financial Accountability & Management 8(3), pp. 181-201. (10.1111/j.1468-0408.1992.tb00437.x)
Edwards, J. R. and Boyns, T. 1992. Industrial organization and accounting innovation: charcoal ironmaking in England 1690-1783. Management Accounting Research 3(2), pp. 151-169.
Edwards, J. R. 1992. Companies, corporations and accounting change, 1835-1933: A comparative study. Accounting and Business Research 23(89), pp. 59-73. (10.1080/00014788.1992.9729861)
Coombs, H. M. and Edwards, J. R. eds. 1992. Local Authority Accounting Methods. Problems and Solutions, 1909-1934. New York, NY: Garland Publishing.

1991

Coombs, H. M. and Edwards, J. R. eds. 1991. Local Authority accounting methods - The early debate, 1884-1908. New York, NY: Garland Publishing.
Edwards, J. R. and Newell, E. 1991. The Development of Industrial Cost and Management Accounting before 1850: a survey of the evidence. Business History 33(1), pp. 35-57. (10.1080/00076799100000003)
Boyns, T. and Edwards, J. R. 1991. 'Do accountants matter? The role of accounting in economic development. Accounting History Review 1(2), pp. 177-195. (10.1080/09585209100000028)
Edwards, J. R. 1991. The process of accounting innovation: the publication of consolidated accounts in Britain in 1910. The Accounting Historians Journal 18(2), pp. 113-132.

1990

Edwards, J. R. and Coombs, H. M. 1990. The evolution of the district audit. Financial Accountability and Management 6(3), pp. 153-176. (10.1111/j.1468-0408.1990.tb00328.x)
Edwards, J. R., Hammersley, G. and Newell, E. 1990. Cost accounting at Keswick, England, c. 1598-1615: The German Connection. The Accounting Historians Journal 17(1), pp. 113-132.

1989

Edwards, J. R. 1989. A history of financial accounting. London: Routledge.
Edwards, J. R. 1989. Industrial cost accounting developments in Britain to 1830: A review article. Accounting and Business Research 19(76), pp. 305-318. (10.1080/00014788.1989.9728860)

1986

Edwards, J. R. 1986. Depreciation and fixed asset valuation in railway company accounts to 1911. Accounting and Business Research 16(63), pp. 251-263. (10.1080/00014788.1986.9729324)

1985

Edwards, J. R. 1985. The origins and evolution of the double account system: an example of accounting innovation. Abacus 21(1), pp. 19-43. (10.1111/j.1467-6281.1985.tb00110.x)
Edwards, J. R. and Webb, K. 1985. Use of Table A by companies registering under the Companies Act 1862. Accounting and Business Research 15(59), pp. 177-196. (10.1080/00014788.1985.9729264)

1984

Edwards, J. R. and Webb, K. 1984. The development of group accounting in the United Kingdom to 1933. The Accounting Historians Journal 11(1), pp. 31-61.

1982

Edwards, J. R. and Webb, K. M. 1982. The influence of company law on corporate reporting procedures, 1865-1929: an exemplification. Business History 24(3), pp. 259-279. (10.1080/00076798200000051)

1981

Edwards, J. R. 1981. Company legislation and changing patterns of disclosure in British company accounts 1900-1940. Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
Edwards, J. R. and Warman, A. 1981. Discounted cash flow and business valuation in a nineteenth century merger: a note. The Accounting Historians Journal 8(2), pp. 37-50.

1980

Edwards, J. R. ed. 1980. British company legislation and company accounts, 1844-1976. New York, NY: Arno Press.
Edwards, J. R. 1980. British capital accounting practices and business finance 1852-1919: An exemplification. Accounting and Business Research 101(38), pp. 241-258. (10.1080/00014788.1980.9728750)

1979

Edwards, J. R. and Baber, C. 1979. Dowlais iron company: accounting policies and procedures for profit measurement and reporting purposes. Accounting and Business Research 9(34), pp. 139-151. (10.1080/00014788.1979.9729149)

1976

Edwards, J. R. 1976. The accounting profession and disclosure in published reports, 1925-1935. Accounting and Business Research 6(24), pp. 289-303. (10.1080/00014788.1976.9728695)
Edwards, J. R. 1976. Tax treatment of capital expenditure and the measurement of accounting profit. British Tax Review 1976(5), pp. 300-319.

Primary research interests

Accounting and class conflict in Victorian Britain
Asset valuation and profit measurement in corporate financial reports
Cash to accruals accounting in British central government

PhD supervision research interests

Accounting history

Teaching commitments

BS3503. Development of Accounting (Module leader)

Qualifications

BSc (Econ) (Wales), MSc (Econ) (Wales)
Fellow, Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales
Associate, Chartered Institute of Taxation
Fellow, Higher Education Academy

Honours and awards

2014 Academy of Accounting Historians Barbara D. Merino Award for Excellence in Accounting History Publication (jointly with Trevor Boyns) for A History of Management Accounting. The British Experience (Routledge 2013).
2012 Accounting Historians Journal Manuscript Award (runner up) for paper entitled ‘Accounting on English landed estates during the agricultural revolution – a textbook perspective’.
2011 Accounting, Business & Financial History Basil Yamey Prize, for paper entitled ‘Researching the absence of professional organisation in Victorian England’.
2010 Recipient of the British Accounting Association Lifetime Achievement Award made to ‘individuals who have made a substantial and direct contribution (through research, teaching or public service) to UK academic accounting and finance over the course of their careers’.
2008 Accounting Historians Journal Manuscript Award (jointly runner up with Masayoshi Noguchi) for paper entitled ‘Professional leadership and oligarchy: the case of the ICAEW’.
2007 Accounting Historians Journal Manuscript Award (jointly runner up with Stephen P. Walker) for paper entitled ‘Accountants in the British census’.
1994 Academy of Accounting Historians (USA) 1994 Hourglass Award for an ‘outstanding contribution to the accounting history literature’.
1994 Accounting and Business Research Walter Taplin Prize (jointly with Malcolm Anderson and Roy Chandler) for the article judged by the editors to be the best published in volume 23 (1993/4): ‘Changing perceptions of the role of the company auditor, 1840-1940’.

Professional memberships

Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
Associate of the Chartered Institute of Taxation
Associate (from 1976 Fellow) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales

Academic positions

2011- present. Research Professor in Accounting, Cardiff University
1992-2011. Professor in Accounting, Cardiff University
1989-1992. Reader in Accounting, Cardiff University
1982-1989. Senior Lecturer in Accounting, University College, Cardiff
1978-1982. Lecturer in Accounting, University College, Cardiff
1977-1978. Senior Lecturer in Accounting, University College of North Wales, Bangor
1971-1977. Lecturer in Accounting, University College, Cardiff

Other scholarly appointments

2014. Visiting Professor in the Discipline of Accounting, the University of Sydney Business School (February-March).
2011. Visiting Professor in the Discipline of Accounting, the University of Sydney Business School (February-March).
2008. Visiting Professor in the Discipline of Accounting, the University of Sydney Business School (February).
2005. Visiting Scholar in the School of Business, the University of Sydney (February-March).
2003. Visiting Scholar in the School of Business, the University of Sydney (February-March).
1998-2002. Adjunct Professor of Accounting, Deakin University, Australia.
1992. Visiting Professor, Department of Accounting, Necastle University, Australia (July-August).
1982. Visiting Associate Professor, New York University Graduate Business School (January-May).

Contact Details

EdwardsJR@cardiff.ac.uk
+44 29208 76658
Aberconway Building, Room S03, Colum Road, Cathays, Cardiff, CF10 3EU