The courts, accounting evolution and freedom of contract: A comment of the case law research

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to explore the influence both of common law and of the judicial process on the development of accounting standards, and the role of contract in accounting activity. To this end, the paper reviews the leading case law research, including its response to positivist views of accounting regulation. The analysis also relates this work to a wider legal historiography, with the objective of generating a historical framework for the study of law and accounting during the prestatutory period.