Nicola Di Cagno: Contributions of a master to the accounting academy and society

Introduction: This study presents the biography of Professor Nicola Di Cagno: a master who contributed to the Accounting Academy and society, favouring the relationship between research and practice and between university and local territory. Aim of the work: This study mainly aimed to expand and deepen the knowledge of Nicola Di Cagno’s contribution to accounting studies, mainly relating to two fruitful lines of research: financial reporting and European accounting directives (this line of research started between the end of the 1970s and the beginning of the 1980s and continued for more than 30 years with several publications) and insurance companies (this line of research started at the end of the 1980s and concluded in the 2000s). This biographical work is also useful for explaining the reasons for, and factors influencing, research directions undertaken by Professor Di Cagno. Methodological approach: This article is placed in the field of biographical studies and adopts a diachronic approach. First, it presents a brief analysis of the environment in which Di Cagno lived and related circumstances influencing his life and career, followed by an exploration and a horizontal reading of all his publications to identify the evolution of his ideas and theories. Main findings: This biographical analysis allows us to identify the common threads of Di Cagno’s academic and institutional contributions and explains the development of his research fields and the unconformity and distinctiveness of his main lines of research with respect to the orientation prevailing at the national academic level at that time (between the end of the 1970s and the 1990s). Originality: This study presents the contributions of Di Cagno, which have never been explored in the literature. This biographical study also highlights the circumstances, personal decisions, and political influences that determined the master’s scientific research and academic career.