In spite of the scarceness of pre-XIXth century accounting documents on Brazilian territory, one little used research source are the records of the religious institutions that have been present in the country since the beginning of its colonization, This paper deals with the foundation of the Third Order of Saint Francis in Recife and São Paulo (Brazil) in the XVIIth century and the contents of the books that recorded the Order's activities, emphasizing the Book of Admission Fees and the Cashbook which, via their revenues and expenses, tell some of the history of the Order and transmit the accounting practices adopted in that age, one of which is rather surprising, that is, the concept of market value.The article also presents the structure of the Order's balance sheets in the period between 1758 and 1782. The text is supported by two books that tell the history of the Order in each of the cities and by the original manuscripts of the Order's Cashbook, number 1 and 2, in Recife. These are made public for the first time in this paper, which reproduces a number of extracts.
Accounting History; Third Order of Saint Francis; Cashbook
