産業革命期イギリスの工業における固定資本概念

抄録

Fixed Capital in most of the manufacturing industries increased remarkably as a result of the industrial revolution. Research in the history of accounting indicates, however, that modern accounting methods, including depreciation and cost accounting to deal with the increased fixed capital, were gradually developed in the late nineteenth century. During the more than fifty year time lag, how was fixed capital treated in the accounting of the manufacturing business ; what delayed the appearance of industrial book-keeping?
One important premise to remember is that during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries lease of the workshop, including machines and other equipment was quite common in England. Industrialists could, by leasing, be relieved of the burden of heavy investment for fixed capital. Accordingly, their only interest in regard to fixed capital was the amount of rent, and they did not recognize the depreciation of the shops and equipment leased. This fact seems to be one of the main reasons why modern industrial accounting was delayed until the latter half of the nineteenth century.
Before the end of the eighteenth century, however, some of the larger and leading enterprises had their own workshops and equipment. In such cases, they had to be aware of the annual depreciation of their own invested capital and the accounting of costs, which included transference of the depreciated capital value.
For example, Samuel Oldknow, a famous muslin manufacture, recognized the transference of the fixed capital value to the value of his products ; but he did not list the depreciation. The annual decrease in value, or depreciation of the fixed capital, was clearly recognized in the trading account of the Soho Engine Manufactory, managed by Boulton and Watt, but they were hardly concerned about the transference.
Thus, during the industrial revolution, the basic ideas about fixed capital had already begun to appear ; but so long as the lease of workshops was widespread, the concept of the fixed capital could not be generally recognized.