DOUBLE ENTRY BOOKKEEPING AND PUBLIC FINANCES: THE THREE SENIOR POSITIONS OF THE PORTUGUESE ROYAL TREASURY, 1761 – A LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

In 1761, a new method of accounting was implemented in the public finances of the Portuguese Empire, the double entry bookkeeping. Through the Letter of Law of 22 December, 1761, the Portuguese Royal Treasury was created, the first public organization to adopt the double entry bookkeeping method in Portugal. This article provides a literature review of the actors that were responsible for the transfer, from the private to the public sector, of the instrumental knowledge to institutionalize the double entry bookkeeping in the public finances. The present research adopts as methodology a qualitative approach and as research method the analysis of texts and documents. The main documentary sources are related to historical records, legislation and scientific journals. Though the article presents the personal relationships established between the three individuals who assumed the leadership of the Royal Treasury in 1761, Pombal (a minister), João Henrique de Sousa (an accounting teacher) and José Francisco da Cruz (a business man), the paper provides, as key contribution, the systematization of the main biographical aspects of the latter. The exploitation of the biography of this accounting technocrat helps to show how Pombal's state apparatus organized its government program. In addition, the article summarizes the essential descriptive aspects of the Letter of the Law of 22 December, 1761.