. Newly founded trade associations
also took a keen interest in the application of scientific management principles to retail
operations. One of the largest and most powerful of such organisations was the National
Retail Dry Goods Association, which was founded in 1911 (Pasdermadjian, 1954, p. 69).
Department store accountants formed a division of this association and held an annual
convention called the Controllers Congress (Godley and Kaylin, 1930). The minutes of
these meetings (held at the Baker Library at Harvard University) provide a fascinating
insight into the debates and discussions regarding some of the new accounting
initiatives introduced in stores as part of the movement for a more rational form of
management.