Alessandro Marelli

An Analysis of Publishing Patterns in Accounting History Research in Italy, 1990-2004

In the last decade, an increasing number of analyses of accounting history literature have been undertaken to classify historical research paths and to “map” the variety of approaches and issues of the discipline in different geographical settings so as to make international comparisons. The paper develops these topics in the Italian context by studying the development of accounting history research (AHR) in the last 15 years. Contributions by Italian authors have been published in international and national specialist journals as well as in more general accounting journals. Other papers have been presented and published in the proceedings of the biannual SISR (Societa Italiana di Storia della Ragioneria) Congress and in the Congress celebrating the 500th anniversary of the publication of Paciolis Summa held in Venice in 1994. The findings chart publication trends during the period 1990–2004 from a quantitative and qualitative perspective, based on different dimensions, the dynamic of change in Italian A...

Accounting History Research in Italy, 1990–2004: An Introduction

The recent publication of monographic issues of international journals such as Accounting, Business & Financial History devoted to the development of accounting in different countries bears testimony to the recognition of the importance of, and the increasing interest in, the nature of differences and similarities in accounting throughout the world. This special issue on accounting history in Italy follows on those devoted to France (Parker et al., 1997; Boyns & Nikitin, 2001), the United States of America (Tyson & Fleischman, 2000), Japan (Chiba & Cooke, 2001), Spain (Boyns & Carmona, 2002), China (Lu & Aitken, 2003) and Germany (Evans, 2005). Up till now, the Italian scenario has not been so extensively studied in the international context, unlike those of other countries, with the exception of the international tribute accorded to the Italian founder of double-entry bookkeeping, Fra’ Luca Pacioli (1494). Although accounting history has a notable tradition in Italy (Onida, 1947; Melis, 1950; Giannessi, 1954; Amaduzzi, 2004), only a few contributions can be found in international publications depicting the evolution of accounting and business studies in Italy (Galassi, 1984; Canziani, 1994; Zan, 1994). According to Zan (1994), Italian historiography has traditionally given prominence to the identification of the relevant steps in the development, by Gino Zappa, of ‘Economia Aziendale’ (business economics) – in accordance with the view of a linear progression in Italian accounting history towards this end point. In this way, Italian historiography has enclosed itself in a substantial ‘parochialism’ concerned with the evolutionary picture of the history of Italian business doctrines, a research which has been conducted in a manner which has meant that it has been substantially removed from the international context. Indeed, the bulk of the Italian studies on accounting history, whether in domestic or international publications, have been focused on Gino Zappa’s theory, developed in the 1920s. In particular, papers have examined the extent of the scientific importance of this theory, and by an assessment of Zappa’s key contribution to the development of Italian accounting and business thought (Ferraris Franceschi, 1994; Canziani, 1994; Mattessich & Galassi, 2004).

AN ITALIAN FORERUNNER OF MODERN COST ALLOCATION CONCEPTS: LORENZO DE MINICO AND THE LOGIC OF THE ‘FLOWS OF SERVICES’

This article provides an analysis of the thoughts of an Italian academic who lived in the first half of the twentieth century, Lorenzo De Minico, in particular it regards his approach to the allocation of common costs. De Minicos main concern was with the conventional, subjective allocation methods proposed by Italian practitioners and academics of his time. He valiantly searched for a methodological approach based on using causality as the basis for linking costs to cost objects. The most interesting finding of De Minico was the concept of ‘flows of services’ and his commitment to offering a convincing answer to the problem of general or common cost apportionment that went beyond ‘traditional’ criteria. De Minicos ‘flows of services’ referred to the outputs of resources consumed in indirect services. These indirect costs can be considered easily ‘directly attributable’ only if it is possible to measure the connected ‘flows of services’. The article shows that the concept developed by De Minico in early twentieth century of Italy confirms the idea that some theoretical frameworks for a causal allocation of common costs were in existence many decades before information technology made such systems a practical proposition.

Il ruolo degli strumenti di cost management nello sviluppo di nuovi prodotti sostenibili

The literature on performance measurement in Research and Development addresses several topics. This paper investigates the role played by cost management in new product development activities. Particularly the adoption of Activity-Based Costing/Management, Target Costing/Design to Cost, Life Cycle Costing, Total Cost of Ownership is investigated through a survey of 65 companies working in Italy. The findings are interesting because they highlight how firms in Italy reacted to the increased competition and price stagnation during the economy slowdown. Firms respond to the crisis by developing new green products and services mainly in order to satisfy needs of loyal customers, acquire new customer in the same market and increase profitability of sales. Furthermore it emerges a significant strategic orientation towards sustainability and a considerable implementation of cost management tools on development activities focusing on Activity-Based Costing/Management and Life Cycle costing, mainly on those firms more oriented toward sustainability strategies.

Environmental Cost Accounting in Italy: A Research Note

The purpose of the paper is to identify the reasons for corporate adoptions of environmental information in their internal decision-making processes. The focus on the reasons helps understand manager practices and analyse the role played by cost management in solving environmental concerns. The study adopts an explorative research approach. The research method is based on field studies of 8 business organizations. The study is supported by the eco-efficiency theory. In order to solve difficulties in interviewing the managers, the study adopted the scheme of a structured questionnaire. Additional phone interviews were conducted. The findings reveal that environmental accounting information is rather qualified to support internal decision-making processes and external communication. They confirmed the gap between corporate headquarters communication and business organization attitude. The findings show rather poor awareness of the relationship between environmental and economic performance but growing awareness of the positive relation between environmental stance and company image.The study is focused on 8 business organizations therefore the results are not extended beyond the respondents. The analysis highlights why environmental information is used and why environmental costs are measured so as to investigate the reasons for their adoption within business organizations, to improve the effectiveness of environmental information and help the diffusion of environmental cost accounting practices.The study identifies the reasons for the adoption of environmental information in internal decision-making processes, the gaps in the coherent adoption of environmental criteria and highlights elements useful in tracing the pathways for further research on environmental cost accounting practices.