This volume collects together out of print and hard to find sources on the behavioural implications of accounting. It begins with the 1952 monograph, The Impact of Budgets on People by Chris Argyris, considered by many to mark the beginning of behavioural research in accounting and is followed by:

• a critique of the general state of accounting research in 1960
• critical evaluation of Argyris' research and other behavioural studies
• discussion of the research activity in the behavioural aspects of accounting during the 1960s and 70s
• a comprehensive perspective on the development of behavioural accounting research in the 1980s including discussion of the division of behavioural accounting research into two branches.