Shaping “administered decentralisation” through accounting and accountability practices: The case of Italian municipalization (1903-1904)

Introduction: This paper focuses on the peculiar model that the Italian central government adopted in 1903-1904 to directly manage public services. Aim of the work: The aim of this work is to demonstrate how accounting and accountability practices introduced by the Italian central government, functioning as representational and translational technologies of government, shaped the architecture of the so-called “administered decentralization”. Methodological approach: This paper is based on an in-depth analysis of primary and secondary sources, including the texts of the law and the Royal Decree enacted by the Italian central government in addition to the related parliamentary acts. Empirical material is analyzed and interpreted in light of the Foucauldian idea of govern(mentality). Main findings: This paper highlights the role that accounting and accountability practices played in establishing and shaping power relations among central and local governments involved in the direct management of public services. Originality: Contrary to the extant literature, this paper demonstrates how accounting and accountability practices contributed to the establishment of a decentralized form of government rather than centralized models. Moreover, it explores the municipalization process in a historical period that remains hitherto unexplored in the accounting literature.