Raffaele D'Alessio

Accounting history as a local discipline: the case of the Italian-speaking literature (1869-2008)

The aim of the paper is to demonstrate how Italian-language accounting history was one example of a “local” accounting discipline. For this purpose, we reviewed all historical publications edited f...

Budgetary practices in the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Munitions in Italy, 1915–1918

The purpose of this paper is to examine state budgeting for the costs of the First World War (WWI) in Italy. Troops, weapons and munitions were initially managed by the Ministry of War (1915–1917) and then jointly with the Ministry of Munitions (1917–1918). The change was intended to improve efficiency, cut costs and prevent fraud and corruption. However, the budgetary system proved incapable of achieving these aims. The ministry budgets were adjusted in wartime to disclose the additional costs of pursuing the conflict in a generalised way. Before the war, the budget report contained 101 items. When the war broke out only one additional category was added ‘War Expenses’ even though this comprised 90% of total costs by the end of the conflict. Drawing on a range of primary sources the paper analyses likely reasons for limited disclosures about the cost of the war, and emphasises the role of economic and political elites and systems of procurement. The experience of Italy in WWI confirms that budgeting is a socio-political, as well as a technical process.

Cost Accounting for War: Contracting Procedures and Cost-plus Pricing in WWI Industrial Mobilization in Italy

Abstract The aim of this paper is to explore the role played by cost accounting in Italys Industrial Mobilization system and in the largest firm manufacturing weaponry, Ansaldo of Genoa, during WWI. While in other countries such as the UK and the USA, efficiency in buying and managing war material was an important part of military strategy, in Italy, various factors impeded it. This paper focuses on contracting procedures adopted by the Ministry of War and Ministry of Munitions and looks at the cost accounting practices in Ansaldo to see how costs were determined and how prices were set. We found a paradox. On the one hand, despite knowledge of costing, the government did not impose cost controls on the producers of war material, nor on their profit rates. On the other hand, examining Ansaldos cost sheets we discover they underestimated their production costs leading the firm to losses despite its favorable political position. This paper contributes to the theoretical debate about the relationships between accounting and war in the Italian context where lobbying, collusion, bribery and private interests dominated the administrative behavior of public and private actors instead of efficiency, accountability and honesty.

Art and Accounting History: The Teatro San Carlo of Naples, 1737–1786

Abstract Situated in the centre of Naples, the Teatro San Carlo (TSC) was founded in 1737 by the Bourbon Crown during the Reign of the Two Sicilies (one of the several states into which Italy was divided in the eighteenth century), The theatre immediately became an object of admiration and was soon held to be without equal for the perfection of its acoustics. Its original project was described in the Encyclopédie by Diderot as a prime example of a modern theatre. The TSC was one of the most important theatres of Europe in the eighteenth century thanks to its opera buffas, ballets, comedies and operas. This paper examines developments in the management system (private vs. public), the organisational structure, the artistic and administrative activities as well as the accounting practices of the TSC during a period of approximately fifty years (from 1737 to 1786).