Portrait of the Accountant in the Peruvian Literature according to José Antonio De Lavalle: The Accountant's Daughter (1893)

Jorge M. Chávez-Díaz

doi:10.35516/Hum.2026.9061

Authors

Jorge M. Chávez-Díaz School of Accounting Sciences, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Perú https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1968-7626

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.35516/Hum.2026.9061

Keywords:

Accountant's image, accountant's character, Peruvian literature, professional performance, José De Lavalle.

Abstract

Objectives: Peruvian literature presents among its first exponents José De Lavalle, catalogued as a traditionalist with a strong attachment and longing for the Spanish presence in Peru. His novel “La hija del Contador” (The Accountant's Daughter, 1893) provides us with a testimony of the image and personality of the accountant of his time. The article shows the dynamics of literature interrelated with history and accounting, the latter as the moral context of the character.

Methods: The qualitative, interpretative phenomenological method is used. It interacts with the literary piece with its own attributes assigned by the story, context and space. And from there, the author's intentions are reinterpreted considering the contributions of other Peruvian literary authors. Finally, the characteristics of the profile of the professional accountant are extracted.

Results: The first result is that the accountant's personality characteristics are associated with the verbs: to support, to sustain and to comfort. As characteristics of professional performance, his competence, teamwork and ethical independence stand out.

Conclusions: The image projected by a professional accountant according to the literature within the framework of Peruvian history is one of transparency and integrity. His character as a person can be read in his daily activities and in the decisions, he makes in his life. This journey into the past can remind accountants of the role they should model in the society of the 21st century, despite revolutions, wars, elections and the perpetual uncertainty of the future.

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