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Jean Fourastié is well-known for his contribution to thought on economic growth, development and progress. He is also the author of the accounting work to have achieved the highest number of editions in the 20th century. This article examines its different versions spanning a 50-year period. It was originally written during the Second World War and then modified over a long period during which political economic and accounting attitudes greatly changed. In the original version, the author dealt with the essence of accounting and discussed it in an historically interesting way. In following versions, he preserved the conceptual core of his work whilst paying attention to processes of accounting evolution and the specifics of regulation. His achievement remains a reference and example for present-day researchers.