Financial reporting for the Georgia colony

              The Accounting Historians Journal Vol. 12, No. 2 Fall 1985
John H. Engstrom NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY
and
Randolph A. Shockley
UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA
FINANCIAL REPORTING FOR THE GEORGIA COLONY
Abstract: Stewardship reporting was an important tool in the establishment and development of the American Colonies. In 1732 the King of England created the Colony of Georgia as a haven for England's "worthy poor." A corporate trust was established to implement this purpose, and it was necessary for the trustees to account for the many private contributions to the cause as well as the grants from the crown. This article discusses the early history of the Georgia colony, presents a thumbnail sketch of Harman Verelst, the Trust's accountant, and illus-trates by example the financial reporting he developed for the Georgia Colony.
King George II signed the charter for the new colony of Georgia on June 9, 1732, thereby creating a corporation unique in the history of the American colonies. It had been more than a hundred years since England had used a corporation as a colonizing device.1 However, events, public sentiment, and the founders' objectives combined to make the choice effective and practical.
Three primary motives led to the establishment of the Georgia colony. The notion with which present-day Americans are probably most familiar is that Georgia was to serve as a haven for English debtors. Unfortunate debtors in English prisons were to be given a new chance in the colony. This idea proved very popular in England of 1732, for concern over prison reform was prevalent, and it was expensive to maintain the debtors in prison. James Oglethorpe, often honored as the "father" of Georgia, was a lead-ing critic of prison abuses and advocate of reform. There is little doubt that these sentiments created great public support for the colony. However, research has shown that few if any debtors actually sailed to Georgia.2 Instead, most of the early settlers given free passage to Georgia were either poor townsmen from England (not debtors) or European religious refugees who were carefully