British auditors in Poland in the interwar period

Abstract

This article presents the results of historical research on the operation of British accounting firm Whin-ney, Murray & Co in Poland before World War II. Based on our findings this was the only foreign ac-counting firm active in Poland at that time. Following their clients, British accounting firms expanded their operations abroad at the turn of the 19th century. During the 1920s and 1930s the number of audit assignments on the European continent increased rapidly, which necessitated the establishment of branches (offices) in major European cities and industrial districts. Whinney, Murray & Co set up an office in Warsaw in 1932 taking into account its convenient location as a base for undertaking audit assignments throughout the Eastern European region. The Warsaw office concentrated initially on inter-national clients active in Poland but was also engaged in audits of Polish power plants and participated as financial advisor in the electrification program of Polish railways with involvement of British investors. Whinney, Murray & Co contributed to the development of Polish-British economic cooperation before World War II. Its representative was one of the founders of the Polish-British Chamber of Commerce established in Warsaw in 1933.

Keywords

• historia
• Brytyjskie firmy księgowe
• biegły rewident
• Polska międzywojenna
• afera Kreugera
• Whinney