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Learning Through History - Get to know about Prof. Delfina Gomes, University of Braga, Portugal, and her research about ‘Accounting and the social role of Hospital S. Marcos da Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Braga (Portugal, 1910-1920)’

Abstract:

Firmly set in the archive, this study aims at understanding the accounting and social role of the Hospital of S. Marcos da Misericórdia (Mercy) in Braga. This study is intended to answer the following question: how does the accounting of the Hospital of S. Marcos da Misericórdia in Braga reflects the social, economic and political changes observed during the second decade of the 20th century. The period studied in this paper was one of challenging times in Portugal: political instability and crisis marked by the inception of the Republic in 1910, the country’s involvement in the First World War, the shortness of means of subsistence, and the high number of deaths caused by epidemics such as smallpox, typhus and pneumonic (also known as influenza pandemic). All these issues marked the Portuguese society in general, but especially charity institutions such as the Mercy of Braga and its hospital. Different archives have been analysed, focusing on the records from the Braga District and from the Santa Casa da Misericordia in Braga. This study allows an understanding of how changes in the management and accounting of the Mercy and Hospital of S. Marcos determine and are determined by the environment. This study demonstrates that both Mercy and S. Marcos Hospital played a significant social role and were able to adapt to times of crisis, helping to understand how these charities and not-for-profit organisations adjust over time in the achievement of their mission.

Short bio:

Delfina Gomes is Assistant Professor at the School of Economics and Management. She has been visiting professor at RMIT University/Australia and Edinburgh Business School/Scotland. Her main research field of research is Accounting History. The main research projects at the moment are: Accounting and Religion; Accounting and War; Accounting and the State; Accounting Profession. She has published in academic journals such as Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, European Accounting Review, Accounting History, and Accounting Education. She is on the editorial board of Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, Accounting History, among other international journals. She is active in refereeing articles for a number of leading accounting journals. She was awarded with the prize from the Academy of Accounting Historians - 2009 Margit F. Schoenfeld and Hanns Martin W. Schoenfeld Scholarship in Accounting History, being also Trustee of the Academy since 2016.

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