The making of uniform costing in a war economy: The case of the Uniconti Commission in Fascist Italy

Abstract

This article analyses the experience of the Uniconti Commission in setting rules of uniform costing in Italy during World War II (WWII). This initiative was promoted by the Italian Fascist government and the Confederazione dell’Industria (Industry Confederation) in 1941. The purpose of the study is to investigate the process of setting the uniform costing rules and “why” and “how” they were designed. This is done according to a Foucauldian perspective that allows the problematization of accounting as a complex phenomenon, the emergence and functioning of which is linked to context and dependent on the interplay of different influences. Starting from the aims inspired by the totalitarian ideology of the government that promoted the Commission, the analysis is grounded on archival primary sources and provides perspectives on the making of new accounting rules by examining the interplay among participants in the process. The article provides evidence of the complex interplay between knowledge, techniques, institutions and ideology in setting accounting rules in a totalitarian context, marked by a prevailing role of ideology and state in the regulation of the economy.