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Accounting change in central government

Author

Listed:
  • Delfina Gomes
  • Garry D. Carnegie
  • Lúcia Lima Rodrigues

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to look at the adoption of double entry bookkeeping at the Royal Treasury, Portugal, on its establishment in 1761 and the factors contributing to this development. The Royal Treasury was the first central government organization in Portugal to adopt double entry bookkeeping and was a crucial first step in the institutionalisation of the technique in Portuguese public administration. Design/methodology/approach - Set firmly in the archive, this paper adopts new institutional sociology (NIS) to inform the findings of the local, time‐specific accounting policy and practice at the Portuguese Royal Treasury. Findings - Embedded within the broader European context, this study identifies the key pressures exerted upon the Royal Treasury on its formation in 1761, which resulted in major accounting change within Portuguese central government from that date. The study provides further evidence of the importance of the state in the institutionalization of accounting practices by means of coercive pressures and highlights for Portugal the importance of individual actors who, as powerful change agents, made key decisions that influenced accounting change. Originality/value - This study examines a major instance of accounting change in European central government and broadens the application of NIS in accounting history research to a different country – Portugal – and to a different time – the eighteenth century. It also serves to illuminate the difficulties of collecting pertinent evidence pertaining to this long‐dated time period in identifying certain forms of institutional pressures.

Suggested Citation

  • Delfina Gomes & Garry D. Carnegie & Lúcia Lima Rodrigues, 2008. "Accounting change in central government," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 21(8), pages 1144-1184, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:aaajpp:v:21:y:2008:i:8:p:1144-1184
    DOI: 10.1108/09513570810918797
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Rodrigues, Lúcia Lima & Craig, Russell, 2018. "The role of government accounting and taxation in the institutionalization of slavery in Brazil," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 21-38.
    2. Garry D. Carnegie & Christopher J. Napier, 2012. "Accounting's past, present and future: the unifying power of history," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 25(2), pages 328-369, February.
    3. Mr. Timothy C Irwin, 2013. "Shining a Light on the Mysteries of State: The Origins of Fiscal Transparency in Western Europe," IMF Working Papers 2013/219, International Monetary Fund.
    4. McBride, Karen, 2021. "A French connection; paths to a ‘new system’ of accounting for the Royal Navy in 1832," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 53(2).
    5. Goddard, Andrew & Assad, Mussa & Issa, Siasa & Malagila, John & Mkasiwa, Tausi A., 2016. "The two publics and institutional theory – A study of public sector accounting in Tanzania," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 8-25.
    6. Masrani, Swapnesh & McKiernan, Peter, 2011. "Accounting as a legitimising device in voluntary price agreements: The Dundee jute industry, 1945–1960," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 22(4), pages 415-433.
    7. Giovanna Centorrino, 2021. "The complex power dynamics within a health care institution during the 15th and 18th centuries. The case of the Great and New Hospital of Palermo," CONTABILIT? E CULTURA AZIENDALE, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 0(1), pages 11-59.
    8. Hooks, Jill & Stewart, Ross, 2015. "The changing role of accounting: From consumers to shareholders," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 29(C), pages 86-101.

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