Management accounting has roots in the capital-intensive, single-product enterprises (such as the railroad, steel and coal industries) that matured during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Milestones in the application of management accounting techniques are identified. These milestones include cost factors for capital investments, the development of scientific management, the birth of multi-product, multi-divisional enterprises, the emergence of mass retailing and the development of operations research. These milestones span the early twentieth century, the post World War II era, and the beginning of the Information Age. The continuing relevance of management accounting in the 'new economy' of the Information Age enterprises is addressed, as are recent management philosophies. .
Unlike cost accounting, which claims a precise origin in the late fifteenth century scholarship of the monk Luca Pacioli, a zero point for management accounting is less specifically defined (even though the discipline is more recent). The earliest elements of management accounting are easily identifiable in large, early nineteenth century textile activities (Parker, 1969 and Pollard, 1968), but the Industrial Revolution was the true catalyst for these new approaches to internal assessments of organizational financial effectiveness. The reasons were simply, yet effectively summarized by Littleton (1933), when he wrote "Older methods become less effective under altered conditions; earlier ideas become irrelevant in the face of new problems." .
There are some clear markers for the genesis of management accounting associated with significant shifts in markets and economic development that emerged during the Industrial Revolution. The earliest history of management accounting is rooted in the production goals of large, hierarchically organized single-product firms. The growth of this form of enterprise was spurred by advances in transportation and communication (specifically, telegraph and railroad) networks from the mid through the late nineteenth century .
