The late nineteenth century is often described as an era of innovation in managerial practice, including accounting. However, despite rich case studies of individual firms, we have little quantitative knowledge of average practices. This paper uses errors and omissions in balance statements to estimate the prevalence of double-entry bookkeeping and depreciation at Massachusetts corporations between 1875–1895. In 1875, 62 percent of firms balanced their returns, but by 1895 this number exceeded 96 percent. The proportion considering depreciation increased from 18 to 24 percent over the period. Firms using these techniques survived longer on average.

中文翻译：

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收支平衡：1875-1895 年马萨诸塞州会计的趋同性和多样性

十九世纪后期通常被描述为管理实践创新的时代，包括会计。然而，尽管对个别公司进行了丰富的案例研究，但我们对一般实践的定量知识却很少。本文使用资产负债表中的错误和遗漏来估计 1875-1895 年间马萨诸塞州公司复式记账和折旧的普遍性。1875 年，62% 的公司平衡了他们的回报，但到 1895 年，这个数字超过了 96%。在此期间，考虑折旧的比例从 18% 增加到 24%。使用这些技术的公司平均存活时间更长。