Accounting historiography has often paid attention to individuals for their pivotal roles in the development of accounting practice and thought; however, little is known about individuals using accounting outside the traditional professional domain. This study explores the use of accounting calculations by a non-professional accountant, the intellectual Melchiorre Peccenini, who advocated his utopian project of an Italian colony in Australia in a book published in Melbourne. By analysing his life and context, as well as his writings and use of calculations, the article reveals how accounting was embedded in the intellectual discourse of an individual and became an advocating device. With its results, this investigation contributes to the accounting biography tradition by extending its boundaries to include ordinary individuals who can provide new insights into accounting as a multi-purpose device.

会计史学常常因个人在会计实践和思想发展中的关键作用而受到关注。但是，对于在传统专业领域之外使用会计的个人知之甚少。这项研究探索了非专业会计师知识分子Melchiorre Peccenini对会计计算的使用，他在墨尔本出版的一本书中倡导了他在澳大利亚的意大利殖民地的乌托邦式项目。通过分析他的生活和背景，以及他的著作和计算方法，这篇文章揭示了会计是如何嵌入到个人的智力话语中并成为提倡者。结果，