Assessing the financial performance of Pergamon Press, 1964-1980

Pergamon Press had major effects on the development of post-war UK corporate reporting. This paper examines Pergamon's financial performance between 1964, when it became a public company, and 1980 when it began the takeover of one of the largest printing businesses in the country, using performance measures based upon newly constructed cash flow statements, on the .normalised. version of the accruals-based profit concept that was applied at the time and the more fundamental, .all-inclusive. approach. It draws conclusions about Pergamon's progress and the effects on that company of the developments of the time in the evolution of the profit concept.