Work

Cameral accounting in local governments in Czechia

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: This article offers a unique analysis of cameral accounting (CA) in local governments (LGs) in Czechia during the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth centuries. Drawing on a wide range of sources, including legislation, textbooks, and original accounting records, it traces the development of CA before its replacement by double-entry accounting in 1953. The analysis compares Czech developments with Walb's (1926, Die Erfolgsrechnung privater und öffentlicher Betriebe. Wien-Berlin: Spaeth and Linde) four-phase model, identifying both parallels and divergences. It further explores the practical benefits of CA for Czech LG accounting in the examined period. The findings reveal that while CA initially served as a progressive and functional tool in the mid-nineteenth century, it gradually evolved, despite repeated adjustments, into a conservative mechanism resistant to reform in the twentieth century.

Source: Accounting History

DOI: 10.1177/10323732261437147

Author: Pavla Slavíčková

Institution: Palacký University Olomouc

Language: English

Topic: Accounting Theory and Financial Reporting

Subfield: Accounting

Field: Business, Management and Accounting

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,650

Funder: Grantová Agentura České Republiky