The first company law in Brazil: act nº 1.083 - august 22 1860

Abstract

This article seeks to demonstrate that a little known law in the accounting area, that is, Act Nº 1.083, from August 22 1860, is actually the first Law on Company Law in Brazil. This is different from the concept in vigour, which adopts Act Nº 2.627, from 1940, as such. In addition, the publication models for balance sheets contained in the law text are presented, which show that the standard created was really followed and served as an orientation for the publications realised until about 1940. Finally, it is highlighted that the circumstances surrounding the elaboration of the law referred to transformed accounting into an instrument for repressing and guarding private activities, a hardly conventional use which is not at all similar to what is expected from it nowadays.