Accounting and work relationships in an eighteenth-century Italian household

Abstract

In elaborating on accounting and work, this study focuses on the distinctive arena of the household to uncover details regarding how relationships with paid subordinates were managed in the eighteenth century. To delve more deeply into the topic, this article focuses on the case of Silvia Rabatta, a widow in a noble family living in Friuli (Italy). Drawing on primary archival sources, this study shows that Silvia managed work relationships with her subordinates like business relationships, instrumental in nature and based on contractual agreements. However, her emotional attachment and attention to the subordinates’ wellbeing were also evident in the accounting books and correspondence of this Friulian noblewoman.

Accounting and the exploitation of the natural world: Studies from a historical perspective

“…This study mainly focuses on the accounting and managerial records of educational institutions, but those interested in the history of agricultural accounting can gain useful insights and also identify archives that could be investigated in more depth. Another important area of historical accounting research has been the study of accounting in the household (Walker and Llewellyn, 2000), and research by Rossi (2022) into the records of Silvia Rabatta, a widow living in Friuli (now part of Italy) in the eighteenth century, shows how she used accounting information to hold farm managers accountable and to make decisions about how to best exploit her landed estate. Another study focused on the role of an individual, by Masiero (2020), examines the ways in which an Italian economist and landowner, Leone Wollemborg, used face-to-face narrative accountability methods to 'examine' farmers seeking cooperative credit, thus constituting members of the rural population as 'accountable selves'.…”

Short sharp shock and long deep rumble: Natural disasters and private property loss in New Zealand

“…Given the loss of life, livelihood and home, natural disasters particularly affect the private and domestic sectors. Although there is a growing literature on accounting in the domestic sphere (e.g., Rossi, 2022), natural disaster research has largely focused on businesses (Imaizumi et al, 2016; Shimizu and Fujimura, 2010), the macro-economy (Odell and Weidenmier, 2004; Pereira, 2009), or the government (Miley and Read, 2013), rather than on the effects and recovery of households following a natural disaster. Households are particularly vulnerable to natural disaster loss since, being unpredictable, natural disasters are not easily amenable to a risk calculus.…”