They should attempt to identify the individuals and the local, time-specific environmental factors which affected accounting, and should endeavour to assess accounting's impact on organisational and social functioning. The use of theoretical perspectives drawn from relevant disciplines such as sociology, economics and political theory is encouraged in conducting investigative, explanatory studies of accounting's past. The second Accounting History International Conference will be held in the Japanese city of Osaka. Osaka has been a centre of human habitation for 10,000 years and was the first capital of Japan from the seventh century. It has continued to be an economic and cultural centre and today is a bustling intentional city and, as a traditional gateway to Japan, reflects many diverse cultures.
Many historical buildings remain despite the heavy bombing during World War Two.
The symbol of the city is Osaka Castle dating from 1583. It was constructed by Toyotomi Hideyoshi who unified the country after a long period of civil strife. The original building was burnt down and was reconstructed in 1931 by public subscription. The great bronze bell, well over 2,000 years old, originally used in ritual it became a symbolic token of traditional culture, and the ancient burial mound at nearby Sakai City, built in the fifth century by Emperor Nintoku, is the largest of its type in the world. The more modern EXPO '70 Commemoration Park includes the National Museum of Ethnology, the National Museum of Art, and a Japanese garden.