From Learning to Rationalization: the Roles of Accounting in the Management of Parisian Great Exhibitions from 1853 to 1902

Karine Fabre (1) , Céline Michaïlesco (1)

1 DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management

During the second half of the nineteenth century, five Great Exhibitions took place in Paris. The French state was highly involved in their financing and management which led to the implementation of public finance rules. Because of specific managerial constraints, public accounting systems and practises were adapted to meet project management purposes. This research focuses on the roles that can be fulfilled by this accounting system. For this purpose, the classification system of organizational roles of accounting by Burchell et al. (1980) is used and the potential roles of accounting change over time according to political background and parliamentary control are considered.

Mots clés: Great Exhibitions; public finance; accounting practises; accounting system roles; France; nineteenth century

Mots clés: Expositions universelles; finances publiques; pratiques comptables; rôles du système d'information comptable; 19ème siècle

Domaines: Gestion et management

Karine Fabre, Céline Michaïlesco. From Learning to Rationalization: the Roles of Accounting in the Management of Parisian Great Exhibitions from 1853 to 1902. Accounting, Business and Financial History, 2010, 20 (1), pp. 67-90. ⟨halshs-00540569⟩