French Presence in Brazil in the Nineteenth Century: analysis of the accounting archives of Casa Boris’s in the period from 1872 to 1887

Abstract

Founded in Brazilian imperial period, Casa
Boris had an important commercial role in the
Northeast region of Brazil. Using a competitive
business structure, it linked the Ceará Province
(branch) with France (headquarters), by importing
manufactured goods and exporting raw materials.
In this paper, we studied the Journal and Ledger
of Casa Boris, particularly from 1872 to 1887.
The study aimed to analyze the contents of the
accounting records contained in these books so as
to report facts and points of historical interest to
the Brazilian Accounting. The main contribution
of the research, in general, is associated with an
attempt to understand the influence of political,
economic, social and institutional settings on
accounting practices and vice-versa. Our findings
led to the conclusion that the bookkeeping of
Casa Boris was transparent to reveal the quality
of accounting control of commercial operations
undertaken by the firm and also shows the
coexistence of a incipient provincial market that
concomitantly linked Brazil to Europe in the
second period of Brazilian Monarchical Empire.