Peculiarities of accounting for merchandise costs in Badoer's Ledger
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26784/issn.1886-1881.23.1.13257Palabras clave:
digitizing history, digitalization, history of bookkeeping, double entry, venture accounting, Spexe de marchadantia, Jacomo BadoerResumen
The Spexe de marchadantia account, employed in commercial accounting during the 14th and 15th centuries, has long provoked scholarly debate, though few researchers examined it systematically. Modern analysis of this account in Jacomo Badoer's Libro dei conti (1436–1439) faces substantial challenges: significant material deterioration and damage to the archival source have obscured critical accounting entries. Through digital reconstruction techniques, the authors recovered previously unreadable text and restored informational losses in the ledger. This methodological approach enabled comprehensive analysis of Badoer's accounting procedures, revealing that the Spexe de marchadantia account functioned as both an expense distribution mechanism and a significant profit-generating instrument through commission fees and markup accumulation. The digital methodology thus transforms damaged historical sources into analyzable datasets, offering new interpretative possibilities for understanding pre-Pacioli accounting sophistication.
Descargas
Citas
Alfieri, V. (1891). La partita doppia applicata alle scritture delle antiche aziende mercantili veneziane. GB Paravia e Company.
Antinori, C. (2004). La contabilità pratica prima di Luca Pacioli: origine della partita doppia. De Computis, Revista Española de Historia de la Contabilidad., 1(1), 4-23. https://doi.org/10.26784/issn.1886-1881.v1i1.238 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26784/issn.1886-1881.v1i1.238
Astuti, G. (1968). Le forme giuridiche della attivita mercantile nellibro dei conti di Giacomo Badoer (1436-1440). Annali di Storia del Dirito, XII-XIII (1968-69).
Besta, F. (1880). La ragioneria: prolusione letta nella solenne apertura degli studii per l'anno scolastico 1880-81 alla r. Scuola superiore di commercio in Venezia dal prof. Fabio Besta (Vol. 1). Tipografia dell'istituto Coletti.
Besta, F. (1891). Corso di ragioneria professato alla classe di magistero nella r. Scuola superiore di commercio in Venezia. Venezia: Coi tipi dei fratelli Visentini.
Besta, F. (1909). La ragioneria, 2nd edition (in 3 volumes), Facsimile Reprint, 2007. Rome, Italy: Rirea.
Carnegie, G. D. (2014). The present and future of accounting history. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 27(8), 1241-1249. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-05-2014-1715 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-05-2014-1715
Carnegie, G. D., & Napier, C. J. (2017). Historiography in accounting research. In Z. Hoque, L. D. Parker, M. A. Covaleski, & K. Haynes (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Qualitative Accounting Research Methods (pp. 71-90). Routledge.
Cordery, C., Gomes, D., Leoni, G., McBride, K., & Napier, C. (2023). Innovation in accounting historiography: Where to from here? Accounting History, 28(3), 368-389. https://doi.org/10.1177/10323732231168457 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/10323732231168457
De Roover, F. E. (1945). Early examples of marine insurance. The Journal of Economic History, 5(2), 172-200. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022050700112975 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022050700112975
De Roover, R. (1946). Andrea Barbarigo's trial balance. Accounting Review, 21(1), 98-99.
De Roover, R. (1956). The Development of Accounting Prior to Luca Pacioli, According to the Account Books of Medieval Merchants in Littleton A.С. and Yamey B.S. Studies in the History of Accounting. London London: Sweet & Maxwell, 114-174.
Dorini, U., & Bertele, T. (1956). II Libro dei conti di Giacomo Badoer (Costantinopoli 1436-1440). Rome: Istituto Poligrafico dello Stato.
Fowler, C., & Keeper, T. (2016). Twenty years of accounting history (1996-2015): The changing faces of accounting history research. Accounting History 21(4), 389-418. https://doi.org/10.1177/1032373216657842 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1032373216657842
Gaffikin, M. (2011). What is (accounting) history? Accounting History 16(3), 235-251. https://doi.org/10.1177/1032373211405019 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1032373211405019
Ganchou, T. (2003). Giacomo Badoer et kyr Théodôros Batatzès, «chomerchier di pesi» à Constantinople (flor. 1401-1449). Revue des études byzantines, 61(1), 49-95. https://doi.org/10.3406/rebyz.2003.2272 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3406/rebyz.2003.2272
Gomes, D., Carnegie, G. D., Napier, C. J. (2011). Does accounting history matter? Accounting History 16(4), 389-402. https://doi.org/10.1177/1032373211417993 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1032373211417993
Gurskaya, M., Kuter, M., & Bagdasaryan, R. (2020). The structure of the Trial Balance. In ICIS 2019, LNNS 78 (pp. 103-116). Springer Nature Switzerland. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22493-6_11 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-22493-6_11
Hocquet, J.C. (2010). Le réseau d'affaires de Giacomo Badoer marchand vénitien à Constantinople (1436-1440), 57-79.
Iida, M. (1998). Trades in Constantinople in the First Half of the Fifteenth Century. Mediterranean world, 15, 41-49.
Knudsen, D. R. (2020). Elusive boundaries, power relations, and knowledge production: A systematic review of the literature on digitalization in accounting. International Journal of Accounting Information Systems 36: 100441. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accinf.2019.100441 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accinf.2019.100441
Kuter, M., Baker, C. R., & Gurskaya, M. (2022). Profit Calculation in a Late 14th Century Sole Proprietorship: The Case of Francesco Datini. Accounting Historians Journal, 49(1), 15-28. https://doi.org/10.2308/AAHJ-2019-503 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2308/AAHJ-2019-503
Kuter, M., Baker, C. R., Gurskaya, M., & Sagitova, R. (2024). Peculiarities of Accounting Practices in Francesco Datini's Partnership in Pisa. Accounting Historians Journal, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.2308/AAHJ-2021-024 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2308/AAHJ-2021-024
Kuter, M., & Gurskaya, M. (2019). Accounts of household expenses in the medieval companies. In The 2018 International Conference on Digital Science, 286-295. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02351-5_33 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02351-5_33
Kuter, M., Gurskaya, M., Andreenkova, A., & Bagdasaryan, R. (2017). The early practices of financial statements formation in medieval Italy. Accounting Historians Journal, 44(2), 17-25. https://doi.org/10.2308/aahj-10543 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2308/aahj-10543
Kuter, M., Gurskaya, M., Andreenkova, A., & Bagdasaryan, R. (2018). Asset impairment and depreciation before the 15th century. Accounting Historians Journal, 45(1), 29-44. https://doi.org/10.2308/aahj-10575 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2308/aahj-10575
Kuter, M., Sangster, A., & Gurskaya, M. (2020). The formation and use of a profit reserve at the end of the fourteenth century. Accounting History, 25(1), 69-88. https://doi.org/10.1177/1032373219870316 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1032373219870316
Kuter, M., Sangster, A., Gurskaya, M., Lugovsky, D., & Evtykh, S. (2025a). Digitalising medieval accounting research - Andrea Barbarigo's Venetian Cash Account 1430-1434. Accounting History, 30(1), 44-67. https://doi.org/10.1177/10323732241301777 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/10323732241301777
Kuter, M., Sangster, A., Gurskaya, M., & Petrash, N. (2025b). Digitisation and digitalisation of primary sources - preserving historical heritage and a new digital historical methodology. Accounting Historians Journal 52 (2). https://doi.org/10.2308/AAHJ-2025-025 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2308/AAHJ-2025-025
Lane, F. C. (1944). Andrea Barbarigo, Merchant of Venice, 1418-1449. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.
Lane, F. C. (1945). Venture accounting in medieval business management. Business History Review, 19(5), 164-173. https://doi.org/10.1017/S000768050000831X DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S000768050000831X
Lane, F. C. (1977). Double entry bookkeeping and resident merchants. Journal of European Economic History, 6(1), 177.
Legner, C., Eymann, T., Hess, T. (2017). Digitalization: Opportunity and challenge for the business and information systems engineering community. Business and Information Systems Engineering 59(4), 301-308. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-017-0484-2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12599-017-0484-2
Leoni, G., & Sangster, A. (2025). Accounting history in the digital age.Accounting History, 30(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/10323732251313890 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/10323732251313890
Levant, Y., & Zimnovitch, H. (2017). Epistemology and management science: Is accounting history still a legitimate subject of study? Accounting History 22(4), 450-471. https://doi.org/10.1177/1032373217730087 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/1032373217730087
McBride, K., & Philippou, C. (2022). 'Big results require big ambitions': Big data, data analytics and accounting in master's courses. Accounting Research Journal 35(1): 71-100. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARJ-04-2020-0077 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/ARJ-04-2020-0077
McBride, K., & Verma, S. (2021). Exploring accounting history and accounting in history. The British Accounting Review, 53(2), 100976. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2021.100976 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bar.2021.100976
Martinelli, A. (1974). The origination and evolution of double entry bookkeeping to 1440. PhD Dissertation. North Texas State University, USA.
Melis, F. (1950). Storia della ragioneria: contributo alla conoscenza e interpretazione delle fonti più significative della storia economica. Bologna: Cesare Zuffi.
Melis, F. (1962). Aspetti della vita economica medievale (studi nell'archivio Datini di Prato), Siena: Monte dei Paschi di Siena.
Melis, F. (1972). Documenti per la storia economica dei secoli XIII-XVI, Leo S. Olschki, Firenze, 752 p.
Morrisson, C. (2001). Coin Usage and Exchange Rates in Badoer's Libro dei Conti. Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 55, 217-245. https://doi.org/10.2307/1291820 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/1291820
Napier, C. J. (2020). Historiography. In J. R. Edwards & S. P. Walker (Eds.), The Routledge Companion to Accounting History. 2nd ed. London and New York: Routledge, 321-353. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351238885-2 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9781351238885-2
Peragallo, E. (1977). The Ledger of Jachomo Badoer: Constantinople September 2, 1436 to February 26, 1440. Accounting Review, 881-892. https://doi.org/10.2308/TAR-4504844 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2308/TAR-4504844
Peragallo, E. (1980). Jachomo Badoer, Renaissance man of commerce, and his ledger. Accounting and Business Research, 10(sup1), 93-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/00014788.1979.9728774 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00014788.1979.9728774
Peragallo, E. (1981). Closing procedures in the 15th century ledger of Jachomo Badoer, a Venetian merchant. Accounting Review, 587-595. https://doi.org/10.2308/TAR-4491987 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2308/TAR-4491987
Peragallo, E. (1983). Development of the Compound Entry in the 15th Century Ledger of Jachomo Badoer, A Venetian Merchant. The Accounting Review, 58(1), 98-104. https://doi.org/10.2308/TAR-4487747 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2308/TAR-4487747
Quinn, M., & Murphy, B. (2023). Accounting history in a digital age: Empirical experiences, improving methods and unlocking new research avenues. Accounting History, 30. https://doi.org/10.1177/10323732231203011 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/10323732231203011
Ross, J. W., Beath, C. M., & Sebastian, I. M. (2017). Digitized ≠ Digital. MIT CISR Research Briefings, 18(100), 1-3. https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/11633.003.0004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/11633.003.0004
Sangster, A. (2016). The Genesis of Double Entry Bookkeeping. The Accounting Review, 91(1), 299-315. https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-51115 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2308/accr-51115
Sangster, A., Kuter, M., Gurskaya, M., & Andreenkova, A. (2018). The determination of profit in medieval times. In MosITS 2017, AISC 724 (pp. 215-224). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74980-8_20 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74980-8_20
Sangster, A. (2022). Venetian 15th Century bookkeeping as taught by Marino De Raphaeli. De Computis, 19(1), 53-70. https://doi.org/10.26784/issn.1886-1881.19.1.7288 DOI: https://doi.org/10.26784/issn.1886-1881.19.1.7288
Sangster, A., & Santini, F. (2022). Lost in translation: Pacioli'sde computis et scripturis. Accounting History, 27(4), 555-577. https://doi.org/10.1177/10323732221098443 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/10323732221098443
Sangster, A. (2023). 'Going digital' - Its place in research into the history of modern accounting.Accounting History, 30(1), 7-22. https://doi.org/10.1177/10323732231196256 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/10323732231196256
Sangster, A. (2025). Time to reboot accounting history - Evidence from scholarship on double entry. Accounting History, 30(3), 368-391. https://doi.org/10.1177/10323732251357606 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/10323732251357606
Swierenga, R. P. (1970). Clio and computers: A survey of computerised research in history. Computers and the Humanities, 5(1), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02404252 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02404252
Zerbi, T. (1952). Le origini della partita doppia: gestioni aziendali e situazioni di marcato nei secoli XIV e XV. C. Marzorati.
Zaagsma, G. (2013). On digital history. BMGN-Low Countries Historical Review, 128(4), 3-29. https://doi.org/10.18352/bmgn-lchr.9344 DOI: https://doi.org/10.18352/bmgn-lchr.9344
Descargas
Publicado
Cómo citar
Número
Sección
Licencia
Derechos de autor 2026 Nikolai I. Petrash
Esta obra está bajo una licencia internacional Creative Commons Atribución-NoComercial-CompartirIgual 4.0.
