Accounting for community building: the municipal amalgamation of Milan in 1873–1876

Abstract

This study analyses the accounting change that occurred as a consequence of the amalgamation of the municipalities of Milan and Corpi Santi in the years 1873-1876 and sheds light on the role played therein by accounting information. To explain the process of accounting change, the study adopts institutional theory, in particular, coercive isomorphism and the processual approach of Dawson. While coercive isomorphism shaped the process of municipal amalgamation, innovation in accounting practices also took place, greatly contributing to building the sense making of the new community. The accounting innovation consisted in the use of cost accounting logic to allocate revenues and expenditures between the two municipalities that in the end favoured the amalgamation and overcame the mandatory separation of published accounts. The study presents evidence that leading elected councillors and the chief accountant bolstered the process of accounting innovation. Apart from external organisational pressures posited by institutional theory, we suggest that, to explain accounting change within organisations, more emphasis should be given to the role played by individuals and contrasting interests during the institutionalisation process.

Sustainable Development, Governance and Performance Measurement in Public Private Partnerships (PPPs): A Methodological Proposal

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“…Public Value is the level of social well-being of a community that is compatible with the survival or even the growth and development of the Public Administration [37,38,117]. What is the relationship between Public Value and performance, according to the literature?…”

Enacting accountability: The case of the Asili di Carità, 1913–1926

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The construction of Brunelleschi’s dome in Florence in the fifteenth century: between accountability and technologies of government

“…Given its quasi-public administration nature, funded by public resources and influenced by both political and religious powers, the Opera found itself in need of guaranteeing greater 'downward accountability' (Kearns 1996;Ebrahim 2005) to users, the local community, and other affected constituents. Moreover, the literature on the third and quasi-public administration suggests that an organisation's national institutional context, which includes legal, regulatory, and professional structures, influences its propensity to adopt pervasive tools of accountability (Holloway, Francis, and Hinton 1999;Guarini, Magli, and Nobolo 2018).…”