See the table below for information on each of the Recommendations, and to view them online. These historical statements provide valuable evidence of what was regarded as best practice in the UK from the 1940s to the 1960s, and of the profession’s attempts to deal with novel problems which arose during that time.
More general information for those researching UK accounting standards, including a timeline of their history and development, can be found in our main research guide. We also maintain separate pages on superseded FRSs, SORPs, SSAPs, and UITF Abstracts.
List of Recommendations on Accounting Principles
| Number | Title | First issued | Date withdrawn | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| N1 | Tax reserve certificates | 12 December 1942 | October 1958 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N2 | War damage contributions, premiums and claims | 12 December 1942 | c. 1958 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N3 | The treatment of taxation in accounts | 13 March 1943 | October 1958 | Available online (as originally issued, with an amendment published in May 1948). |
| N4 | The treatment in accounts of income tax deductible from dividends payable and annual charges | 13 March 1943 | October 1958 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N5 | The inclusion in accounts of proposed profit appropriations | 13 March 1943 | October 1958 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N6 | Reserves and provisions | 23 October 1943 | October 1958 | Available online (as originally issued, with an amendment published in May 1948). |
| N7 | Disclosure of the financial position and results of subsidiary companies in the accounts of holding companies | 12 February 1944 | c. 1958 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N8 | Form of balance sheet and profit and loss account | 15 July 1944 | October 1958 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N9 | Depreciation of fixed assets | 12 January 1945 | January 1980 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N10 | The valuation of stock-in-trade | 15 June 1945 | 16 November 1960 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N11 | Excess profits tax post-war refunds | 19 July 1946 | 15 August 1953 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N12 | Rising price levels in relation to accounts | 14 January 1949 | May 1974 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N13 | Accountants’ reports for prospectuses: fixed assets and depreciation | 11 March 1949 | January 1987 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N14 | The form and contents of accounts of estates of deceased persons and similar trusts | 12 August 1949 | 5 November 1969 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N15 | Accounting in relation to changes in the purchasing power of money | 30 May 1952 | May 1974 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N16 | Accountants’ reports for prospectuses: adjustments and other matters | 13 November 1953 | January 1987 | Available online (as originally issued, with a related statement published in February 1957). |
| N17 | Events occurring after the balance sheet date | 13 October 1957 | January 1980 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N18 | Presentation of balance sheet and profit and loss account | October 1958 | January 1980 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N19 | Treatment of income tax in accounts of companies | October 1958 | July 1968 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N20 | Treatment of investments in the balance sheets of trading companies | 13 November 1958 | January 1980 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N21 | Retirement benefits | 29 February 1960 | February 1989 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N22 | Treatment of stock-in-trade and work in progress in financial accounts | 16 November 1960 | May 1975 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N23 | Hire purchase, credit sales and rental transactions | 9 December 1964 | January 1980 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N24 | The accounting treatment of investment grants | 14 April 1967 | July 1974 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N25 | The accounting treatment of major changes in the sterling parity of overseas currencies | 17 February 1968 | January 1980 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N26 | Land Commission Act 1967: accounting implications | 11 May 1968 | January 1980 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N27 | Treatment of taxation in accounts of companies | July 1968 | January 1980 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N28 | The accounts of investment trust companies | 7 August 1968 | January 1983 | Available online (as originally issued). |
| N29 | Trust accounts | 5 November 1969 | October 1986 | Available online (as originally issued). |
The ICAEW Library holds collected editions of the Recommendations as they stood at particular dates, as well as copies of the Members' Handbook, in which the Recommendations were included from 1958 onwards.
Auxiliary material
Commentary and background information on the Recommendations can be found in the ICAEW publication 'Principles before standards: The ICAEW's 'N Series' of Recommendations on Accounting Principles 1942-1969' (2014), and in the article ‘The ICAEW's Recommendations on Accounting Principles and secrecy of process’ by Stephen A. Zeff (2010). The latter provides a brief overview of the Recommendations, the context within which they emerged, the process by which they were developed, and their impact.
Interested parties may also wish to consult the Survey of Published Accounts — a series of surveys of UK financial reporting practice published annually by ICAEW between 1970 and 1996. This series, which both chronicled and influenced the evolution of the UK's accounting standards, was originally conceived as a means of assessing the extent to which companies’ accounts adhered to the Recommendations.
Further background information can be found in the articles ‘Accounting Principles, Internal Conflict and the State: The Case of the ICAEW, 1948–1966’ by Masayoshi Noguchi and John Richard Edwards (2004), and 'Interaction between tax and accounting practice: accounting for stock-in-trade' by Masayoshi Noguchi (2005).
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