An institutional perspective on the development of Canada’s first public accounts

Abstract

This study examines the Dominion of Canada’s first accounting system from the perspective of institutional theory. We find that Canada’s first accounting system was a continuation of an institution-building process begun earlier in the former Province of Canada. We argue that the political upheaval associated with the dissolution of one political jurisdiction and the creation of a new country created conditions conducive to institutional persistence rather than change, and that persistence was supported by continuity of the legislation and important agents that bridged the organizational discontinuity created by the confederation event.