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Accounting, accountability and cost efficiency at the Commonwealth of Australia Clothing Factory, 1911-1918

Deakin University

Thomas N. Tyson

St. John Fisher College

Studies that examine the early adoption of scientific management practices in both Australia and the US are often authored by historians who focus on workers' struggles for dignity, autonomy, and control. Ellem (1989) and Frances (1993) related the history of Australia's Commonwealth Clothing Factory (CCF) from this perspective. Understandably, they did not examine the dynamics of implementing modern cost accounting procedures in a state-owned, unionised clothing enterprise, nor did they discuss the impact of the government's mandate to maintain cost efficiency. This paper re-examines the early history of the CCF in light of these perspectives and concludes that economic and political rationales are key determinants in the implementation of these procedures.

Key Words: Australian labour history • accounting for labour • standard costing • scientific management • clothing workers

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