The spread of double-entry bookkeeping method in the 16th Century: "Quaderno doppio col suo giornale novamente composto et dilegentissimamente ordinato secondo il costume di Venetia" of Dominico Manzoni (1540)

In the history of accounting, the book of Dominico Manzoni, “Quaderno doppio col suo giornale novamente composto et dilegentissimamente ordinato secondo il costume di Venetia” (1540) has not had the recognition which probably would have deserved. The fame of the Paciolian “Summa”, which Manzoni constantly refers to in the theoretical part of his work, has obscured the role and importance of this book. However, there are many interesting profiles of analysis. Manzoni can be considered the first “accountant” or “quaderniere”. He used the double entry bookkeeping method serving the great merchants of the time. Then he decided to describe and to spread the accounting techniques according to the “Venice method”, for the benefit of all who were interested in. But the central element of Manzoni’s work is, certainly, the exemplification that the Author presents. It has a sort of “educational” intention, based on Manzoni’s work experience at the company of the merchant Alvise Vallaresso in Venice. The aim was, firstly, to empirically apply what is described in the theoretical section, but also to make understandable some technical steps. These are related, for example, to the closure and the reopening of accounts, not supported by precise theoretical explanations. Through an analysis of Manzoni’s work, aim of this study is to understand how – and how deeply – the Author could have contributed to the advancement of accounting tecniques. These considerations are made also in light of the particular diffusion of the book in the years after its first edition of 1540, as evidenced by the numerous reprints and translations.