Historical Evolution of Balance Sheet Classification: The Turkey Case of Evolving By Translating
The paper examines historical evolutions or developments of balance sheet classification as a basic financial statement, concentrating on phases in Turkey from 1926 to 1992. The authors rigorously scanned books and study papers published in English and Turkish and summarized crucial information as milestones in history. The paper examines the developments in western countries up to the mid-20th Century, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. However, the paper’s primary focus is on Turkey’s developments and evolutions between 1926 and 1992. The paper may have weaknesses and limitations concerning the overall history; however, this study proposes opportunities for future studies in Turkey and the world. As a result, the paper concludes that it would be difficult to understand the new dynamics without understanding the old dynamics.
Bilançoda Varlıkların Sınıflandırılmasında Tarihsel Evrim: Tercümeye Dayalı Türkiye Örneği
Şeyh Edebali’ye ait olduğu iddia edilen “geçmişini bilmeyen, geleceğini bilemez” ifadesinden hareket ederek muhasebe ve raporlama alanlarında geçmişte yaşanmış gelişmeleri bilmek ve geleceğin dinamiklerini anlayabilmek için oldukça önem taşımaktadır. Bu nedenle bu çalışma, bilanço unsurlarından varlıkların, sıralanması ve sınıflandırılmasının tarihsel süreç içerisinde geçirdiği evrimi, erişilen kaynaklar kapsamında ortaya koymayı hedeflemiştir. Belirlenen hedef doğrultusunda öncelikli olarak, İngilizce dilinde, bilançodaki varlıkların sıralanması ve sınıflandırmasının tarihsel gelişimi ile ilgili 20. Yüzyılın ortasına kadar ortaya konulmuş olan çalışmalar, erişilebilen kaynaklar kapsamında incelenmiş ve kilometre taşı niteliğinde olan gelişmeler örnekleriyle birlikte bu çalışmada ele alınmıştır. Daha sonra, ülkemizdeki benzer nitelikteki çalışmalar 1926 – 1992 dönemini kapsayacak şekilde incelenmiş, uygun görülen gelişmeler kısaca özetlenerek, yaşanılan evrimin aşamaları ortaya konmuştur. Çalışma, erişilebilen kaynaklar kapsamında belirli bir dönemi kapsadığı için, varlıklardaki sıralama ve sınıflandırmaya etkisi olan gelişmelerin tümünü içerme iddiasında değildir.
The balance sheet format is one of the fundamental financial statements of business organizations. The study states that based upon the needs and expectations of information users, listing and classifying assets on a balance sheet have evolved for more than six centuries. The study explores balance sheet principles regarding listing and classifying assets in a global historical perspective until the mid-20th century. The study also seeks historical evidence on Turkey from 1926 to 1992. Accessible secondary resources were scanned to accomplish this paper’s goal.
Some historical evidence exists in accounting books from 1397 from The Medici Bank. Some researchers asserted that these books have been well-preserved and could represent the oldest records for the double-entry bookkeeping method (Roover, 1963; reprint, 2021). More than 200 account balances were included in the trial balance by The Medici Bank (op. cit.).
Based on the accessible and scannable literature, we could argue that the balance sheet, similar to today’s format and definition, emerged at the beginning of the 17th century, as seen in Hypomnemata Mathematica, a book by Dutch mathematician Simon Stevin (Geijsbeek, 1914). However, we could observe that assets in this balance sheet were listed on the right-hand side and liabilities and equity were on the left-hand side. In the accessible literature, the oldest classified balance sheet, as historical evidence, was from the East India Company, dated March 1, 1782. In this classified balance sheet, assets were also listed on the right-hand side. Furthermore, assets were listed on the right-hand side of the balance sheet until the beginning of the 20th century in the United Kingdom. This principle and practice was part of the English Companies Law, enacted first in 1720 and amended in 1844 and 1856.
Meanwhile, assets appeared on the left-hand side of balance sheets in the United States of America but were not listed by the current liquidity-based approach. Instead, assets were listed by the approach commonly used in the Continental European Countries. Consequently, this approach listed stockholders’ equity first, then liabilities on the right-hand side of business organizations’ balance sheets. Classified assets and liabilities appeared on the balance sheets after several centuries. Baladouni (1990) argued that the items in the East India Company’s balance sheets, prepared in 1782, were classified within themselves and stated that the classification was based on the “productivity and efficiency” criteria. Iino (1956) stated that the balance sheet was first mentioned and appeared in an official document in Germany in a decision of the German Royal Supreme Court dated December 3 1873. The Court’s decision stated assets and liabilities in the balance sheet and the classification of assets in the balance sheet based upon the valuation criteria under Article 31 of the Second Part of the German Commercial Code.
Grouping and classifying assets in balance sheets appeared after the civil war in the United States in the 19th century, evolved to the current format roughly in the middle of the 20th century, and developed and formed as a standard. The preparation of balance sheets and the classification of assets in the balance sheets were also the subjects of significant discussions in Canada in the second quarter of the 20th century. During 1934 and 1935, significant changes were made in the Dominion Companies Act in Canada regarding accounting practices and the preparation of the balance sheets. It was decided to classify assets as fixed assets, current assets, and deferred items (Dalglish, 1938). In the same period, a similar case was observed in China, and in the 1930s, assets began to be classified as current assets, fixed assets, and other assets in the balance sheets prepared by business organizations in China (Yang et al., 2014). At the end of the 19th century, some important discussions commenced regarding the grouping and reporting of assets and liabilities in balance sheets in the United Kingdom. The main reason for this was the balance sheet format in the British Companies Act, which was last amended in 1862. During the same period, while assets were reported on the left-hand side of the balance sheet in the United States and Continental European countries, assets continued to be reported on the righthand side in the UK. Various sectors discussed this subject, and significant pressure was applied to change this practice and implement the format used in other countries.
At the end of the 19th century, the classification of assets also followed “permanent, floating, and changing assets” (Dicksee, 1892; Ebook, 1905 version). This classification was based upon the use of assets or the creation of benefits. However, those preparing the financial statements determined “which asset falls into which group.” Due to many difficulties in establishing a new state in post-republic Turkey, western-developed states were taken as best examples in developing legislation and legal regulations and practices. In the first years of the young Republic of Turkey, Continental European practices influenced Turkish accounting practices. Then, accounting practices of Anglo-Saxon countries were preferred in the mid-20th century as part of the Marshall Plan. Accounting concepts and principles were commonly translated and adopted from western-developed countries, and different people or institutions realized the translations and adaptations; thus, achieving term unity was difficult. The translation and adaptation processes have led to different concepts and principles in classifying assets in the balance sheets of Turkish business organizations.
