Paulo Schmidt

A research note on accounting in Brazil in the context of political, economic and social transformations, 1860-1964

From 1860 to 1964, but particularly after 1930, Brazilian society changed from an agrarian to an industrial society and from an emphasis on the export sector to becoming focused primarily on the domestic market. During this period, there were significant changes in accounting that were largely imposed by the State. This note explores the main political, economic and social factors that influenced the development of accounting in Brazil during this period. In a legalist country such as Brazil the development of accounting cannot be effectively studied without considering how accounting affects, and is affected by, the political and social context. The note ends with a call for further accounting history studies about Brazil based on archives and primary sources.

Documenting, monetising and taxing Brazilian slaves in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries

Although Brazil imported more African slaves than any other country in the Americas, knowledge of the accounting and taxation of slave-related transactions in Brazil is under-developed. We explore Portuguese-language documents showing how accounting and taxation were implicated in maintaining slavery in Brazil in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The study presents examples of key documents involving slaves (such as inventory lists, rental agreements, insurance policies, and receipts) and explains how slave-related transactions were recorded and taxed. We enable important comparisons to be drawn with the accounting and taxation of slaves in the USA and British West Indies.

A classificação da contabilidade dentre os ramos do conhecimento humano

Embora a Contabilidade, mesmo que de forma nao sistematica, ja exista a mais de 10.000 anos, ainda nao existe unanimidade sobre sua natureza. Para alguns, ela classifica-se como arte; para outros, como tecnica ou, ainda, como ciencia. Neste artigo, foram analisados os argumentos a favor e contra estas classificacoes, concluindo-se pelo posicionamento da Contabilidade como uma disciplina de natureza cientifica enquadrando-se como uma ciencia factual, social, considerando que o fator social e preponderante na atividade contabil. Este posicionamento foi fundamentado em uma analise laconica dos substantivos arte e tecnica, objetivando a refutacao destes como classificatorio para a Contabilidade; e em um estudo mais aprofundado do substantivo ciencia, visando o enquadramento da Contabilidade dentro do campo cientifico.