The article focuses on the understudied role of accounting information in financial fraud in pre-modern historical contexts where specific regulations and standards were absent. Following a systematic literature review, the authors adopt an enriched version of the ‘fraud triangle’ to correctly identify fraud in such a setting. A microhistorical approach allows them to identify an exceptional case documenting the use of accounting statements to disclose a financial fraud in a ceramic manufacturing partnership in late eighteenth-century Venice. The case is analysed to identify the role of accounting information in determining the purpose (incentive), the technical possibility (opportunity) and the consequences (rationalisation) of the fraud. The results emphasise the authorities’ use of accounting statements to assess the situation of the company and fix its crisis, rather than to sanction fraudulent behaviours.

本文重点关注在缺乏特定法规和标准的近现代历史背景下，会计信息在财务舞弊中被忽视的作用。经过系统的文献综述，作者采用了“欺诈三角”的丰富版本，可以正确地识别这种情况下的欺诈行为。微观历史的方法使他们能够确定一个特殊的案例，该案例记录了会计报表的使用，以披露18世纪后期威尼斯陶瓷制造合作伙伴中的财务欺诈行为。对案件进行分析，以确定会计信息在确定欺诈的目的（激励），技术可能性（机会）和后果（合理化）中的作用。