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Recent international experiences of community inclusion have produced a major change in residential care for people with intellectual disability (ID). Assignment and outcome assessment through new person‐centred measures are raising increasing interest; however, the information on quality of life and accommodation is still limited. This paper aims to provide an overview of the application of quality of life models and the size of the provision of different living arrangements.

A systematic mapping of the literature of the last decade was followed by an expert guided review of the available evidence.

QoL outcomes measures of living arrangements in people with ID show conceptual and methodological challenges. The following key topics were identified: individual level: issues related to health status, behavioural problems and other personal factors (ageing, choice and empowerment); family and peers; local level: accommodation, architecture and urbanization, and economic aspects (deprivation and costs); macro level: social participation (community inclusion). The residential solutions that are currently considered of highest efficiency are small apartments in the community and “cluster centers”.

The level of quality of life is very relevant in the assessment of living arrangements in people with ID although its assessment still shows significant limitations. Some accommodation typologies seem more effective than others. New conceptual models of inclusive residential care support the convenience of a wide range of accommodation alternatives that may fit the individual needs of a highly heterogeneous population group. A unique residential alternative, albeit optimal from a community care perspective, may not be adequate for all persons with ID.

The study investigates the use of accounting information in the form of a confession as a tool for telling the truth about oneself and reinforcing power relations in the context of the Roman Inquisition.

The study adopts Foucault's understanding of pastoral power, confession and truth-telling to analyse the accounting practices of the Tribunal of the Inquisition in the 16th century Dukedom of Ferrara.

Detailed accounting books were not simply a means for pursuing an efficient use of resources, but a tool to force the Inquisitor to open his conscience and provide an account of his actions to his superiors. Accounting practices were an identifying and subjectifying practice which helped the Inquisitor to shape his Christian identity and internalise self-discipline. This in turn reinforced the centralisation of the power of the Church at a time of great crisis.

The use of accounting for forcing individuals to tell the truth about themselves can inform investigations into the use of accounting records as confessional tools in different contexts, especially when a religious institution seeks to reinforce its power.

The study documents the important but less discernible contributions of accounting to the formation of Western subjectivity at a time which Foucault considers critical in the development of modern governmental practices.

The study considers a critical but unexplored episode in Western religious history. It offers an investigation of the macro impact of religion on accounting practices. It also adds to the literature recognising the confessional properties of written information by explicitly focusing on the use of financial information as a form of confession that has profound power implications.