Harmood Banner

Harmood Banner (1782–1865) was a British accountant and auditor. He played a major role in the development of accounting and finance in Liverpool, establishing the foundation for the Liverpool Society of Chartered Accountants 1870; which, in turn, played a part in the formation of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales in 1880. He could be said to be the father of professional accounting in England.

Life The origins of the name Harmood lie in the family history. Royal Navy Captain Harmood's daughter married into the prosperous Banner family, and their son was named Harmood Banner.

Banner was practising as an accountant in Liverpool by 1805. He acted in cases of liquidation, distributing the remaining assets to claimants. He was involved in banking as both auditor and liquidator. He acted as a share broker, including shares in Liverpool’s Liverpool Athenaeum Club, Liverpool Botanic, Botanic Gardens, Liverpool water companies, Manchester and Liverpool Railway, Wigan Branch Railway ventures and Manchester, Liverpool and Hull marine insurance.

Banner married in 1808 and the dowry included a piece of inherited land at the corner of North John Street and Harrington Street. The building known as “Harrington Chambers” was erected and Banner practiced there as an accountant. When his son joined the firm, forming Harmood Banner and Sons, they remained there and the firm remained in the building until 1962. The family home was at Dingle Mount, His funeral in April 1865 was a major event, attended by firemen, orphans, accounting clerks, and five carriages of his extended family and local notables. In the early morning the cortege passed slowly through the streets, passing through Belvedere Road, Catherine Street and Canning Street, and eventually arriving at St James' Cemetery. His grave is close to the cemetery entrance.