Accounting research in Italy: second half of the 20th century

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to offer a concise survey and comparison of Italian accounting research and academic publications during the second half of the 20th century.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper discusses the special relation between economia aziendale (business and public economics) and ragioneria (accounting) in Italy. The subsequent discussion on “financial accounting” includes a sub‐section on income‐orientation (vs capital‐orientation), especially important in Italy during this period, and the present crisis of economia aziendale as affecting ragioneria, contributions by major Italian accountants of the period (above all, Onida and Amaduzzi) are discussed. After a section on “cost and managerial accounting” (of less significance in Italy than financial accounting), and a look at “novel accounting trends”, the paper closes with a discussion of some representative historical studies of the period.

Findings

The paper reveals the changing international position of Italian accounting research.

Research limitations/implications

The paper is limited by selecting the most prominent and relevant contributions among a host of pertinent publications.

Originality/value

In contrast to previous research, the paper offers an integrated survey of major Italian accounting publications of the entire second half of the 20th century.

Citation

Viganò, E. and Mattessich, R. (2007), "Accounting research in Italy: second half of the 20th century", Review of Accounting and Finance, Vol. 6 No. 1, pp. 24-41. https://doi.org/10.1108/14757700710725449