Revisiting new accounting history four decades on: reconciling traditional and critical historiographies

Purpose Revisiting debates in New Accounting History four decades on, this paper advances accounting historiography through the development of a Neo-Critical Accounting History (NCAH) framework that systematically integrates the strengths of traditional accounting history with the theoretically informed and critical orientation of new accounting history. In answering the “how” question, the framework offers an analytical pathway through which accounting historians may proceed with a rigorous and socially attuned mode of inquiry. Design/methodology/approach The study is grounded in critical accounting approach, in particular, Habermas's method of rational reconstruction (Held, 1980) providing the philosophical foundation for proposing an agenda advancing framework for NCAH. The framework integrates the methods of historical academic monograph with key features of both traditional and new accounting history. Findings The proposed NCAH framework is articulated across three interrelated dimensions. First, it integrates traditional and critical historiography by combining historical rigour with critical depth to recover marginalised voices and enhance contextual analysis. Second, it advances epistemic pluralisation through rigorous source critique, methodological triangulation, and engagement with diverse archival and counter-accounts, thereby addressing archival silences, partialities, and power relations. Third, it embraces theoretical openness and contemporary relevance, enabling historical inquiry into emerging accounting-related topics aligned with broader societal and ethical concerns, and strengthening accounting history's engagement with contemporary scholarly and public debates. Originality/value The manuscript demonstrates how traditional and new accounting history approaches may be systematically integrated, including through approaches inspired by abductive reasoning. Within this framing, narrative is positioned not as an end in itself, but rather as a point of departure for deeper theoretical interpretation and historical analysis. In doing so, NCAH reconciles historical and archival rigour with theoretical openness, thereby enhancing the analytical depth of the discipline and its capacity to contribute to interdisciplinary scholarship, societal reflection, and professional practice.