Funding policies and accounting at the University of Ferrara under the Fascist Regime in Italy

Accounting was a fundamental tool for the Italian Fascist regime to exert its power on universities, which are recognised to be among the most independent public organisations within a State. For the Fascists, educational discourses were extremely important in forming the “new Italians” by shaping the values and beliefs of future generations and ruling classes according to the Fascist creed. Limiting the autonomy of these organisations was extremely important to take control of the educational process and limit freethinking. Accordingly, at the time when Fascists came into power the University of Ferrara enjoyed the status of “Free University”. Accounting provided the Fascist Government with key information about the activities of the University of Ferrara, thereby enabling an individualised intervention. At the same time, it helped to make visible the need of the University to rely on government funding when Fascist policies had the effect of “starving” the organisation. So persuasive was the action enabled by accounting information that the University eventually surrendered to the pressure coming from the government and requested to become a “Kingdom University”, subject to formal, penetrating controls by the State.