Bookkeeping in the Almacén de Agüera between the XVIII and XIX centuries. A study on the evolution from the record according the «cargo and data» method to the double entry method

Abstract

This paper focuses on a privately-owned firm, belonging to the XVIII and XIX centuries,
with the double aim of: i) describing and characterizing the system of bookkeeping and its evolution through time and ii) studying in depth the process through which the accounting system studied and its applications were shaped. The evidence examined shows the transition from a very rudimentary system to some more or less evolved instances of single-entry which ended up as the implementation of double-entry. Likewise, the article displays the gradual emergence of new accounting practices — developed from the ones originally implemented because of the pressures received from the environment— as changes happened in the organization under study. In general, the accounting information obtained due to these new practices could apply to an improvement in management.