Economia di guerra e cambiamenti nella contabilità: l’unificazione dei conti e della determinazione dei costi nell’esperienza della Commissione “Uniconti” (1941-42)

Changes in accounting are not immune from the influence of (public or private) institutions that play a political and social role, and whose interaction produces a regulatory function for accounting theory and practice. Such a dynamic can be a significant determinant in characterizing changes to the accounting methods in certain historical, social and institutional contexts. Among the socio-political conditions that have characterized the past century, the different role played by the State in the economy towards direct intervention and the intention to regulate economic processes is certainly a very significant issue, even for the implications of such a behavior on accounting developments. In particular, this was proven to be true for the economic policy promoted during World War II, with the problems associated with the control of the economy and the wartime state joborders to industry. The research presented in this paper analyses the attempts made in Italy towards the definition of uniform accounting practices and comments on both the general issues mentioned above and in particular, the determination of production costs. This paper deals with the Italian experience of a Commission promoted by the Confederazione dell’Industria (Italian manufacturers’ association) and the Fascist government in 1941; the so-called "Uniconti" Commission, created to issue uniform procedures for financial reporting and cost accounting. The analysis, which was based on primary sources consulted in Confindustria’s archives, showed a picture that helped researchers acquire a more extensive understanding of the influence that global ideologies and national policies had on the development of cost accounting and the use of related techniques. The research focused, in particular, on the context of a totalitarian regime, as there was in Italy between the two world wars, and on the roles played by the different entities involved - institutions, the universities, the business world – in that change process.