History and development
This timeline highlights some of the key dates in the development of UK accounting standards from the 1940s to the present. To find out more, take a look at our suggestions for further reading.
1942
The Taxation and Financial Relations (T&FR) Committee of the ICAEW was established in 1942 and was asked by the council of the ICAEW to ‘consider and make recommendations to [the council] on certain aspects of the accounts of companies’ and to publish ‘approved recommendations for the information of members’ (The Accountant, 12 December 1942).
The first ‘Recommendations on Accounting Principles’ were published in December 1942 on the subjects of Tax Reserve Certificates and War Damage Contributions, Premiums and Claims. These recommendations, and those that followed, provided members of ICAEW with early guidance on accounting practice.