Introduction to the corporate governance model of a Portuguese organization of the Ancient Regime, with particular reference to its accounting: the Royal College of Nobles (1766)

Abstract

This article explores, in an introductory approach, a former Portuguese educational institution: the Royal College of Nobles. This institution, founded in Lisbon in 1761 and opened in 1766, was an entity that made part of the public education reform undertaken by the Marquis of Pombal in the reign of D. José. The work expands the traditional boundaries of the definition of non-profits organizations in order to extend it to an old Portuguese educational entity. Our main objective is to present the main features of the organization, management and school administration of the Royal College of Nobles, in the light of the modern discourse applied to the understanding of phenomena assigned to the areas of education and management of non-profit entities. We also seek to present insights on the interrelation between accounting and this institution. We used a qualitative methodology and, to collect information, the method of analysis of texts and documents, especially primary sources. The main conclusion is that this entity, the Royal College of Nobles, used double entry bookkeeping in its system of accounting and, despite having corporate governance models, both executive and financial, absolutely innovative for the time, has failed in aspects of pedagogy, such as the inadequacy of curricula and the ineffective control of students’ disruptive behavior.