ABSTRACT

This study examines the approach to depreciation adopted by companies engaged in two light engineering industries associated with the second industrial revolution: the cycle and motor vehicle industries. Through an examination of the published accounts of 21 companies engaged in these sectors at some time during the study period, and the archival records of two of them (Birmingham Small Arms and Daimler), this study examines the extent to which firm depreciation practices differed from those in more traditional sectors (iron and steel, coal, transport) previously examined by historians. It is found that depreciation was applied more regularly and, at least in some cases, according to set rates and using sophisticated systems. Nevertheless, the depreciation practices of firms, especially in the motor vehicle sector, have been deemed to render net profit figures unusable as a means of comparing business performance before the introduction of new legal requirements relating to financial reporting introduced by the 1928 Companies Act.

摘要

本研究考察了从事与第二次工业革命相关的两个轻工行业的公司所采用的折旧方法：自行车和汽车行业。通过对研究期间某个时间从事这些行业的 21 家公司的公开账目以及其中两家公司（伯明翰轻武器和戴姆勒）的档案记录的检查，本研究考察了公司折旧做法与历史学家以前研究过的更传统部门（钢铁、煤炭、运输）的那些。研究发现，折旧的使用更频繁，至少在某些情况下，根据设定的费率并使用复杂的系统。然而，公司的折旧做法，特别是在机动车辆部门，