In a recent article, Jones (1995) notes that witnesses before the nineteenthcentury government committees played a pivotal role in the initiation of company accounting recommendations and, ultimately, in subsequent legislation. However, very little is known about these witnesses, particularly in relation to their professional occupations/affiliations and the degree to which different professions were represented before various parliamentary committees. Research on these questions will improve our knowledge and understanding of nineteenth-century influences on company law reform. This preliminary study indicates that the representation of different professional groups varied between committees. Furthermore, certain professions and interest groups tended to be better represented than others throughout the nineteenth century. Finally, accounting recommendations of witnesses appeared to vary across different professions.