A Historical Overview of Accounting in Romania

Abstract The purpose of this historical overview of the development of accounting in Romania was to account for the myriad changes in the Romanian approach to accounting from Ottoman to modern times. The main themes to emerge from the overview were as follows: (a) the development of Romanian accounting was stunted by the immature capitalism and wealth-transfer mentality of the Ottomans; (b) there was rapid and innovative development in Romanian accounting during the early years of Romanian independence; (c) Romania’s post-World War Two experience of being a Soviet satellite undid the country’s nascent accounting innovations; and (d) Romania has struggled to return to a path of accounting modernity even in the post-Ceausescu era.

Introduction Since 1989, Romania has undergone numerous and wide-ranging changes in its accounting practices. These changes are part of Romania’s larger experience of economic transformation, which has been profoundly influenced by the end of the Communist regime and entry into the European Union. Romania thus provides rich ground for accounting historians. However, the literature on Romanian accounting transformation is limited. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (a) to summarize what is known of the evolution of Romanian accounting from 1989 onwards and (b) to place these accounting changes in the context of Romanian economic history. One of the special contributions of this article will be the utilization of a broad number of Romanian sources, including sources that cast light on the crucial 19th-century evolution of Romanian accounting.