The primary objective of this thesis is to assess the role of accounting in the economic development process of Iraq. The study highlights the crucial role of accounting information and techniques in the planning, decision-making, and control of economic activities at both micro and macro levels. 

A secondary objective is to affirm the importance of accounting and economic data in project appraisal and control. An attempt is made to reappraise two public agricultural projects which have already been evaluated by Iraqi planners and executed by two different foreign companies. The study also examines the projects' implementation and operating stages in an attempt to identify any failures in performance.

The thesis can be divided into three parts: 

The first discusses the role of accounting in the economic development process. 

The second part gives a broad outline of accounting practice in Iraq and its impact on planning, control, and decision-making at both the micro and macro levels with particular reference to methods of project selection, appraisal, implementation, and control. The agricultural sector has been chosen for this purpose. 

The third part of the study is an empirical investigation of the appraisal, implementation, and control processes of two agricultural projects, aiming to show that accounting information and techniques have a vital role to play in project appraisal and control, and in linking the objectives of an investment project to those of national economic development