Accounting for Art

Abstract

In recent years, terms such as economics of art and cultural economics are increasingly used in western societies, especially in those with a rich cultural heritage. What is relatively less discussed is a sort of, as it were, 'micro' approach, focused on managerial issues at the level of the single cultural organisation. This is a somewhat strange state of affairs, given that the pressure for efficiency and resource reduction tends to have major impacts at this particular level. As part of the annual congress of the European Accounting Association in May 1999, a symposium was held on the relationships between Accounting and Art, a discussion of which is presented here. The contribution of the editor (Luca Zan) examines possible elements of interest in studying accounting for art. Then there follows the contribution of Anthony Blackstock, Finance Director of the British Museum, a member of the accounting profession and the first person to hold this post in the long history of the organisation. Mr. G. Cerutti, General Manager of the Centre Pompidou, focuses on managerial implications regarding accounting and art, stemming from the reduction in public funding to state cultural institutions in France. Mr. C. Mayer, Art Director of the S. Carlo Theatre in Naples, investigates the ideological and financial reasons of the crisis of Italian Opera.

Keywords: Arts management, accountability, arts organizations

JEL Classification: M10, M20, M40, M41, M48