Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
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Because of several contacts previously held, towards the end of 1991 a working lunchtook place at the Autonomous University of Madrid where the seeds of the future Comisiónde Historia de la Contabilidad de AECA, that is, Commission of Accounting History ofAECA were sown. As everybody knows, AECA stands for the Spanish Association for Accounting and Management. Jorge Tua, who at that time was Vice-rector of said University, convened this lunch. Beside the host attended the lunch Enrique Fernández Peña, José María González Ferrando, Esteban Hernández Esteve, Francisco Ibisate García and Fernando Martín Lamouroux. In the course of the lunch, Enrique Fernández Peña, in his capacity as member of the Board of Directors of AECA, exposed his desire to make a proposal to create within the Association a Commission of Accounting History. He thought that this discipline, not very well known, had most interest. In this way, it would become institutionalized and its study and research enhanced. To this effect, he was interested to know the opinion that the attendees had of his idea and whether they would support it if the case would arrive.

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The arrival to the throne by the first Bourbon King, Philip V (1700) and the subsequent naming of José Patiño y Rosales (1717) as Quartermaster General led the situation of the Spanish Navy to undergo an important transformation in its military and administrative organisation, which in terms of legislation meant the publication of different Ordinances and regulatory dispositions. The subsequent development of which, at different historic         1 El autor desea expresar su agradecimiento al personal del Archivo Naval de Cartagena por la inestimable ayuda recibida en la realización del presente trabajo de investigación.     moments, is analysed in the present study, for the period 1700-1850. The struggle for supremacy in the command between the Cuerpo de los Oficiales de Guerra [War Officers’ Corps] and the Cuerpo Administrativo del Ministerio [Ministry Administrative Corps] marks the historical period summarised, with diverse disputes, which from the point of view of legislation was finally decided in favour of the “sword” of the military jurisdiction, with the “pen” of the administrative jurisdiction being relegated to following the orders. The importance of supplying the warships with provisions oriented the study toward the analysis of the administrative legislation that specifically regulates said question, given the enormo us normalizing effort contained in each of the ordnances and regulations analysed. This presents a profound and very detailed picture of the development of the control of provisions, the normalization of the forms offered by the Ordinances of Charles IV, published in 1793, for the anticipation in their standard regulations. The accounting system charge and discharge method was implemented in the Spanish Navy during practically all the time examined, although, after the publication in 1850 of the Bravo Murillo’s Law for the Administration and Accountancy of the Public Treasury, a change is detected towards the double entry accounting method, which would more or less explicitly implement the Accountancy Regulations for the Navy in 1850, and which be expressly gathered together in a subsequent regulation in 1858. The documentation handled in order to carry out this paper has largely been that from primary sources of the Naval Archive of Cartagena, as well as that of other legislation obtained from the Archive of the Treasury Ministry in Madrid.

The present research analyzes the design of a procedure of allocation of expenses and income at the end of 18th century in an organization, the College-University of Osuna, without look-for-profit spirit. This procedure arose like answer to the complaints of the professors of the University by the abuses committed by the members of the College in the administration of the common patrimony shared by College and University. The accounting procedure of allocation was supposed to be a mechanism of arbitration in the conflict between College and University on the distribution of their common patrimony. The problems between College and University because of jurisdictional questions, of protocol and overall because of the division of that common estate were frequent from, at least, beginnings of 17th century. The historical moment at which this accounting procedure arose was marked by the reform of the policy undertaken by several Spanish enlightenment governments who tried to reduce the influence of the Colleges over the Universities and had forced a deep reform of the Constitutions of the College-University to adapt to the same one. From the accounting perspective, literature has shown the use during this period of complex mechanisms of costs in diverse institutions dependent of Spanish Crown that operated in monopoly regime although they looked for a maximization of their income. In this way, the present work tries to throw light on the accounting capacity to mediate in the conflicts of power between Colleges and Universities during 18th century. Therefore, this study contributes to the investigation on the development of practices of cost-accounting in non Anglo-Saxon countries and in an Institution not aimed to obtain income. Additionally, the research extends our knowledge on the accounting systems used in the Spanish universities throughout their history. The work is based on the description and the analysis of primary sources kept in the Archive of the Old University of Osuna (AUO).

Esta investigación histórico-contable tiene como objeto de estudio el análisis de lainformación económica, financiera y analítica que emite The Rio Tinto Company Ltd. duranteel período en que es propietaria de las minas de Río Tinto, situadas en el suroeste ibérico. Esta empresa se constituye en 1873 con el objeto de obtener rendimientos del beneficio de los minerales metálicos del yacimiento onubense, mediante la venta directa de minerales piríticos o el tratamiento local de los mismos a fin de producir ácido sulfúrico, cobre metálico, sulfatos y superfosfatos, o metales preciosos como el oro y la plata. Sin embargo, y a partir de 1925 comienza un proceso de expansión internacional y diversificación de riesgos que les lleva a formar un conglomerado empresarial con intereses en distintos sectores -químico, metalúrgico, etc.- La trayectoria conjunta de mina y empresa se bifurca en el año 1854 cuando la Compañía Española de Minas de Río Tinto adquiere el establecimiento minero.Nuestro trabajo se centra en el estudio de las minas de Río Tinto y la compañía que lasexplota desde 1873 a 1954 -The Rio Tinto Company Ltd. (R.T.C.)- debido a la gran relevancia que ambas presentan. Las minas de Río Tinto se erigen como los yacimientos mineros de mayor riqueza en minerales metálicos de entre los conocidos en el Siglo XIX. Estas minas se venden a perpetuidad a un consorcio financiero de bandera británica, The Rio Tinto Company Ltd., constituido al efecto. El proyecto de compra-venta es el más significativo de los llevados a cabo en la Bolsa de Londres.

Carlo Antinori è scomparso. Io ho perso un grande amico, un amico di quelli raramentese ne possono incontrare più de tre o quattro lungo tutta una vita; la Storia della Ragioneria haperso un grande uomo di scienza, un gran ricercatore, un vero patriarca che ha contribuito aconvertirla nella disciplina che è oggi, conosciuta e apprezzata in tutto il mondo.Incontrai personalmente il professor Carlo Antinori a Londra nell’estate del 1980, inoccasione del “III Convegno Mondiale degli Storici della Ragioneria”. Lo conoscevo già dinome, per avere letto parecchi lavori Suoi e, soprattutto, la Sua trascrizione del TractatusParticularis De Computis et Scripturis di Luca Pacioli nell’italiano moderno. Per questo, fuper me una gran gioia ed insieme un onore conoscere personalmente un così rinomato storicodella ragioneria, uno dei grandi pionieri della disciplina, insieme a Raymond De Roover, BasilYamey, Ernest Stevelinck, Tito Antoni, Pierre Jouanique, Paul Garner, David Forrester e pochialtri.