Cash and accrual: A dual system of accountability for salient stakeholders by the first Italian higher school of commerce

Abstract

This study considers the accountability practices implemented in the first schools of commerce to effectively communicate with stakeholders. Specifically, it analyses the initial system of accountability implemented by the first Italian higher school of commerce in the nineteenth century, with a particular focus on the use of cash and accrual methods. The microhistorical analysis draws on accountability and stakeholder theories and uses both primary and secondary information sources to investigate the original, hybrid approach adopted by the school, focusing on its dual accountability system. The results section explains the involvement of the government in establishing and recognising the school as a strategic asset for the entire kingdom, contradicting criticisms present in the extant literature; we also examine the innovative accountability process implemented by the school to satisfy the reporting needs of its salient stakeholders. The school was able to apply its accountability competences to implement a dual system, preserving its priorities as based on the relationships between its stakeholders’ needs (the old accountability system), educational skills (teaching the new accountability system) and the wider (national) implications resulting in an improvement of the entire accountability system.