Accounting and Power Relationships at the Origin of the Venetian Hospital of Santi Giovanni e Paolo

In the activity of many institutions and/or entities it is common to see some events that are, for sure, exceptional or, better to say, extraordinary. This could be the case of a merger in which different institutions or entities are going to convey their respective activities into a single one. In this process two or more entities have to solve issues related to technical aspects generated by the merging process. At the same time and in a more complex way, the same entities have to start a long process during which they will put together the different managerial cultures characterizing all the entities joining this merger. Each entity is requested to share its own managerial culture with all the others and has to mix the different levels of power in the new entity emerging from the merging process. This process is complex if we consider a shared and mutual consent towards the merger. This process becomes particularly complex if we assume that the merging entities are forced to accept it. In this case we have to consider that some of the entities involved will try to resist the changes. Moreover, all the entities will try to maintain their respective power within the new organization. Some entities use their power to expand it, supporting the merger process and the establishment of the new organization, and others are interested in maintaining their own power, resisting the process. In this contraposition, accounting could be used as a tool with which an entity could support or resist the merging process. Accounting could be settled in a way in which the established power could expand its control of the merged organizations, and/or the pre-existing organizations could use accounting in order to maintain their power, avoiding disclosure and manipulating information. Such issues could be investigated by adopting a historical perspective, as was already done in previous studies (Riccaboni et al., 2006; Sargiacomo, 2008; Bracci et al., 2010; Leardini et al., 2013). In our study, we have focused our attention on the relevant merger realized during the last years of the Venetian Republic in the healthcare system from which has emerged the Hospital of Santi Giovanni e Paolo. This merger was studied in order to understand which power relations drove this process in order to determine governance and how this has affected the accounting system.

This paper focuses on the origins and development of power and accounting relationships within the context of the merger of the main hospitals of the Venetian Republic, culminating in the establishment of the Hospital of Santi Giovanni e Paolo. Starting from the financial crisis that affected four major hospitals (Incurabili, Derelitti, Mendicanti, and Pietà), it explores how the accounting system was employed as both a governance tool and a mechanism of resistance during the complex processes of merger and power transition, spanning from the final years of the Serenissima Republic to the unification of Italy. Through a historical-accounting analysis, the contribution highlights how accounting was used to manage and preserve administrative control, shedding light on the interaction between political power dynamics and accounting practices in the charitable institutions of the time.