Accounting and Management Practices in the Nineteenth Century: An Archival Study of Railway Companies in the Province of Rio de Janeiro

Abstract

The construction of railroads in Brazil in the 19th century represented the first steps in opening new agricultural frontiers during the Brazilian imperial period, connecting agricultural production areas directly to ports. Marking the beginning of an era of Brazilian railway expansion, the first railway companies built followed technological and managerial models already established, especially in England and the United States. The study aims to highlight the accounting and management practices performed by Estrada de Ferro de Cantagalo, Estrada de Ferro Macaé-Campos, and Estrada de Ferro Príncipe do Grão-Pará in Province of Rio de Janeiro in second half of the nineteenth century, using primary sources. Additionally, we perform the Institutional Theory, particularly regarding aspects of mimetic isomorphism, to provide a better understanding of the historical evidence and its relationship to the management and cost accounting practices of the railway sector and the socioeconomic context of the time. The findings fill the Brazilian accounting history literature gap regarding cost and management issues, particularly in the railroad context, and provide insights into its accountability to its stakeholders. The results allow us to conclude that managerial practices of the 19th-century railroads in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro Province were generally aligned with the procedures of leading international railroads at the time.