FINANCIAL REPORTING IN THE EARLY YEARS OF THE EAST INDIA COMPANY

Abstract

The first archival period (1600–1663) of the (English) East India Company is marked by an absence of accounting materials. A small number of financial statements have escaped peril, however, and found their way to the India Office Library and Records in London. Of these, two are of singular interest. Along with related Company minutes, these statements are analyzed and interpreted in this paper. They shed some light on the reporting practices and concepts of the early years of the incorporated joint-stock company.