Building upon panel discussion held at the sixth Accounting History International Conference, a resounding "yes" is offered in response to the question of whether accounting history matters. However, reflecting the viewpoint that accounting history can and should matter more, various suggestions are presented for advancing the quality, relevance and significance of historical research in accounting, commencing with the need to redress persistent misconceptions about the discipline. Practical strategies for enhancing the impact of accounting history scholarship are then developed around the themes of promoting its contemporary relevance and implications, fostering engagement with diverse groups of scholars, writing accounting history in informative and engaging ways, and articulating and developing appropriate methodologies. Finally, the role of accounting historians as "change agents" is explored and advocated.

Paralleling the advent of different conceptions of accounting in the past two decades or so is the distinction between what are now known as the “traditional” and “new” schools of accounting history research. Viewing accounting as a social practice, as opposed to a mere technical practice, orientates the historical researcher firmly into the arena of the new accounting history, which recognizes the pervasive and enabling characteristics of accounting and gives rise to concerns about studying the implications of accounting change on organizational and social functioning. This literature study examines the interplay of conceptions of accounting with schools of thought in the historical accounting literature. It seeks to enhance an understanding of the underlying connections between the conceptions of accounting embraced by researchers of contemporary accounting and the schools of thought adopted by historical accounting researchers. As the state of play in accounting history research appears to have become a little predictable, certain challenges are identified for accounting historians of the future.

This work provides an analysis of published historical research on accounting and accountability in local government (LG) and in public organizations that have links to LG. Within this context, the study identifies the main themes and trends in this historical research, the extent of adoption of particular theoretical perspectives, the nature of sources examined, the periods of time investigated, and the main contributions of published research on accounting’s past within LG settings. By so doing, this article highlights possible future research topics and makes a call for rigorous and robust research on the development of systems of accounting and accountability in LG around the globe. Such research will recognize that accounting, besides being perceived as a technical practice, is also a social practice, with implications for organizational and social functioning.

This paper introduces some significant developments in the history of the Portuguese accounting profession. It does so with a view to providing a facilitative foundation of knowledge upon which further analysis and critique can be undertaken. Five developmental periods since 1755 are identified: (i) Corporatist Absolute Monarchy (1755–1820) (ii) Liberal Monarchy (1820–1890) (iii) Waning Liberalism and Rising Corporatism (1891–1926) (iv) Corporatist Dictatorship (1926–1974) and (v) Emerging Liberal Democracy and Neocorporatism (1974 until the present). The accounting profession's chequered history is analysed through episodes of regulation and deregulation. These episodes are associated with Portugal's pervading social, economic and political context and are dichotomised broadly as either “corporatist” or “liberal”. Relationships between episodes of regulation and periods of “corporatism” are highlighted, together with associations between episodes of de-regulation and periods of “liberalism”. A better understanding emerges of factors instrumental in the emergence of a well respected and rapidly growing accounting profession in Portugal.

As an extension of the Panel session held at the seventh Accounting History International Conference (7AHIC) in Seville in September 2013, the pressures, issues, strategies and implications of the movement from regional to international in terms of publishing in accounting history are presented. These dimensions are analysed from the point of view of four European countries: France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. Although these four countries have languages well disseminated around the globe, and/or possess a long history and tradition of discoveries and were strong players in commercial trade for centuries, academic publishing internationally is dominated by Anglo-Saxon countries and journals. Therefore, English is the main language and different challenges and hindrances are faced by researchers whose native language is other than English. More than arguing for a radical move from the regional to the international, a call is made for a more cooperative environment within international accounting history research which takes into account the cultural differences and embraces those differences.