Financial accounting - Thomas Muirhead & Co (Glasgow) Ltd

Dates: 1923-1947
Description: Financial accounting is the activity of processing, recording, classifying and analysing information on financial transactions between the company and third parties, and between the company and its employees.

Biographical history
Thomas Muirhead & Co (Glasgow) Ltd operated a double entry bookkeeping system. Of the books that made up this system, only two private ledgers, 1937-1947 (ref: FRAS 52), two private journals, 1923-1948 (ref: FRAS 53), one salaries book, 1937-1956 (ref: FRAS 316), and a purchases day book, 1941 (found as one section in a journal kept by House of Fraser Ltd) (ref: FRAS 68), survive. Daily purchases and sales were evidently recorded in sales and purchases day books. It appears that entries in these were posted to separate purchases and sales ledgers and to the private ledgers possibly via the private journals. Monthly salaries were recorded in the salaries book from where they were posted to the private ledgers, again possibly via the private journals. Entries in the private journals were posted to the private ledgers. Folio numbers for the corresponding entry in the ledger were recorded beside each entry in the journal. The journal includes greater detail about individual transactions than the ledgers. The accounts in the private ledger were indexed. Decisions taken by the board of directors on accounting matters were recorded in the minutes of the meetings of the board of directors (ref: FRAS 51). Between 1936 and 1947, Thomas Muirhead & Co (Glasgow) Ltd was a subsidiary of Fraser Sons & Co Ltd. Accounts relating to Thomas Muirhead & Co (Glasgow) Ltd may therefore be found among the Fraser Sons & Co Ltd accounts. From 1947, Thomas Muirhead & Co Ltd became a subsidiary of House of Fraser Ltd. From this date, therefore, accounts may be found among the accounts of House of Fraser Ltd. In addition, the company's property was managed by Fraser Estates Ltd and its finances handled by Frasers (Glasgow) Bank Ltd. Accounts relating to property and finances may therefore also be found among the accounts of Fraser Estates Ltd and Frasers (Glasgow) Bank Ltd.