George J. Costouros
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF ACCOUNTING SAN JOSE STATE UNIVERSITY
DEVELOPMENT OF AN ACCOUNTING SYSTEM
IN ANCIENT ATHENS IN RESPONSE TO SOCIO-ECONOMIC CHANGES*
The development of accounting principles and the evolution of accounting systems are highly dependent on the socio-economic environment. Although the socio-economic environment of the Golden Age of Greece (5th to 4th Century B.C.), known as the classi-cal period, has received the attention of many scholars, very little has been written about early Greek accounting. The purpose of the present study is to demonstrate that the socio-economic activity which took place in the environment of the Golden Age of Greece (largely centered around Athens) created needs that required the development of an improved accounting system and other financial controls. An attempt has been made (a) to explain the development of an accounting system in the government sector of the Athenian state and (b) to trace the evolution of the system in response to socio-economic needs.
In early Athens men were organized into small communities, known as polls. Within these groups they found themselves com-peting for limited economic resources. Natural self-interest and the struggle for survival put social forces into action which created socio-economic inequalities. The strong and sometimes conflicting desires for political power, civic rights, economic power, and wealth created a social class system. Political and economic power was concentrated in the hands of the few, and the powerless masses were mistreated. The aristocrats used their economic power to rule the proletariat who as a result, sought reforms that would offer protection against socio-economic injustice. However, the solving of these problems created a new environment from which new
* Based upon a paper delivered at the Second World Congress of Accounting Historians.