I
J
1
1
1
I
The MCC Balance
To get an idea of the assets and liabilities of the company we must first look at the
balance sheet. The balance sheet of the company at the end of 1752 is constructed
in two similar sides on one page, consisting in total of three pages. On the left, the
debit side is indicated by Debiteuren (debtors, i.e. entities that owe money to the
MCC), and credit side on the right is indicated by Crediteuren (creditors, i.e. enti
ties to whom the MCC owes money). Summation of both debit and credit contin
ues from the previous page to the next, resulting in a total at the bottom of page
three. The sum of all ledger accounts at the end is: 210497:18:7, or 210497 ponden
Vlaams, eighteen schelling, and seven groten, in modern accounting this num
ber indicates the total assets on the debit side, and total equity total liabilities
on the credit side.37 Therefore, one of the ledger accounts on the credit side of
the balance should represent 'total equity, which would indicate the difference
between assets and total liabilities. Although the MCC fundamentally adheres
to this accounting structure, it is not immediately obvious in the bookkeeping.
Paesie indicates, that instead of 'total equity, the MCC has a capital account on
the credit side (capital 'owed to' the shareholders), which is a fixed amount, and
a separate account for deviations from the 'fixed' amount, or accumulated profit
and loss. These company regulations for capital and dividend were formulated
in 1729, to ensure that dividends could be paid if the balance on this account was
positive. This ledger account of surplus or shortfall in equity is called the Reeke-
ning van Avance.38 To get a better understanding of the balance sheet and thus the
Koen van der Blij
177
Debtors
Creditors
Ledger account name
ir
Ledger account name
0
c
3
0
1
a
5"
3
f!
S
3
X
a
d
S"
I
a
8"
1
5
3
a
Total amount
Total amount
Figure 2. Balance sheet structure.
37 Boyns, Boyns and Edwards, Historical Accounting Records, 28.
38 Paesie, Geschiedenis van de MCC, 121.
