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Abstract
The Venice Biennale, founded in 1893, is situated within the cultural sphere, covering work ranging from art, architecture, dance, music and theatre to cinema (the world-known ‘Venice Film Festival’). Throughout its life, the Biennale has experienced very troubled times, being involved in controversy, as well as undergoing significant legal and organisational changes, in particular, the transition from a public body to private one at the end of the 1990s. Dramatic changes have also affected the accounting data collection system utilised by the Biennale, which has developed from a system concerned with providing information for fulfilling specific legal provisions to one comprising a subsystem which has progressively evolved to aid the corporate strategic decision-making process.
This paper critically and systematically reviews the evolution of the accounting system and management control within the Biennale. It will examine how new information requirements over the years have driven the information-accounting system to change and, in turn, how the system has been influenced by the historical setting within which the decisions were made. We also provide some thoughts regarding the future development of such systems.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to express special thanks to Ms Valentina Borsato, Chief Financial Officer of the Venice Biennale for the help given in obtaining historical information relating to the organisation.
Notes
1. Although this work is jointly authored, the first three sections have been the work of Professor Bergamin and the final three sections that of Professor Mio.
2. During its centuries-old history, the organisation which is now known as ‘Fondazione La Biennale di Venezia’ has had numerous different names in the past. For the sake of clarity, hereinafter it will be referred to simply as ‘The Biennale’.
3. In the Historical Archives of the Municipality of ‘Venezia della Celestia’, Venice.
4. Some accounting records, broadly defined, and separate from the municipal financial statement but forming part of it, concerning the early years of The Biennale, can also be consulted at Archivio Storico Comunale della Celestia, in Venice: these records include letters, tables for internal use, small partial statements, such as staff costs (twenty-five employees at a total of 6,935 lira and 23 units of ‘low staff’ at 1,110 lira, while the salary of the head engineer was 1,200 lira), no doubt drawn from the accountant's personal calculations. The first prospectus for 1895 is also of interest: pride of place is given to the grants, which are 10,000 lira from the City, 5,000 lira from the Ministry of Arts, 5,000 lira from the Province and 5,000 lira from the bank, Cassa di Risparmio. This seems to anticipate the current institutional structure of the Biennale, and the appearance of a philanthropic contribution, at least as a contribution to the grants, from the bank Cassa di Risparmio, an embryonic form of sponsorship, is particularly interesting. Such amounts are not recorded as income and costs in the financial statement.
5. For a review of the evolution of the regulations governing municipal financial statements, see Buscema (Citation1972) and Arcidiacono (Citation1997).
6. Relazione sulla quinta e sulla sesta Esposizione, in Archivio Comunale della Celestia, Venice.
7. In Archivio storico del Comune di Venezia della Celestia, Venice.
8. In Archivio storico del Comune di Venezia della Celestia, Venice.
9. Published in the Official Journal no. 35, dated 12 February 1930, IX.
10. Published in the Official Journal no. 292, dated 19 December 1931, X.
11. In fact, the committee was appointed following the suggestions of the mayor of the town (podestà), but since he was directly appointed by the central government, his nominations were, in effect, national appointments.
12. The biennial frequency of the Exhibition dictated that ‘the financial management of the board lasts two years, from 1 January in odd years to 31 December in even years’ (article 17 of the charter, 1931).
13. Report dated 14 November 1932, in Archivio Storico Arti Contemporanee, Venice.
14. Published in the Official Journal no. 18, dated 19 January 1980.
15. Approved by the Board of Governors of the institution by resolution no. 286 dated 20 December 1985.
16. The financial accounting concept aims to provide a general picture of economic and financial situation; the management accounting concept to obtain a specific view of how income is created inside each part of the organisation.
17. Article 9 of Law decree no. 19 dated 29 January 1998 as amended by article 9 of Law decree no. 1 dated 8 January 2004.