Accounting and the Development of Management Control in the Cultural Sphere: The Case of the Venice Biennale

The Venice Biennale, founded in 1893, is situated within the culture sphere, controversy as well as undergoing significant legal and organizational changes, in particular the transition from a cultural sphere, covering work ranging from art, architecture, dance, music and theatre to cinema (the world-known "Venice Film Festival"). Throughout its life, the Biennale has experienced very troubled times, being involved in controversy, has well as undergoing significant legal and organizational changes, in particular the transition from a public body to a private one at the end of 1990s. Dramatic changes have also affected the accounting data collection system utilized by the Biennale, which has developed from a system concerned with providing information for fulfilling specific legal provisions to one comprising a subsystem which has progressively involved to aid the corporate strategic decision-making process. This paper critically and systematically reviews the evolution of the accounting system and management control within the biennale. It will examine how new information requirements over the years have driven the information-accounting system to change and in turn, how the system has been influenced by the historical setting within which the decisions were made. We also provide some thoughts regarding the future development of such systems.