Essay on The History of Accounting

If some research is undertaken that provides evidence that capital markets do not always behave in accordance with the Efficient Market Hypothesis, does this invalidate research that adopts an assumption that capital markets are efficient?

Accounting serves to ensure that financial information is accurately tracked, managed and reported acorss business as well in the personal lives of people. This was as much a necessary function in biblical times as it is today. Although scandals and fraud have farther reaching impact today, it is not a phomenon of our time. So much is this case that botht he Old and New Testament provide rules for accounting and financial actions. Jesus used parables throughout the new Testament that relate to money and it was one of the topics he spoke the most on. Hagerman (1980) states, “the Bible points out that financial accounting is necessary to avoid fraud, to monitor agents, and to reduce conflicts over resources” (p. 72).

“Particulars of their reckonings and their recording” was written by Luca Pacioli, he was a mathematician and he wrote several books on mathematics. the work he wrote was: Summa de arithmetica, geometria. Proportioni et proportionalita (Everything About Arithmetic, Geometry and Proportion). He is often referred to as the father of accounting although he did not discover the system he was just the first one to write about it

What makes a large organization like Wal-Mart financially successful? One could say it is the result of outstanding personnel or perhaps a strong determination to succeed. These factors certainly contribute. However the key to financial success in organizations lies in good accounting. Since early civilization began, accounting has been an important part of our financial transactions. In today’s world our use of modern accounting systems and accurate financial statements are critical components that make modern organizations successful. To facilitate understanding of this point one must understand how

Historically, accounting was performed in columned ledger books and required hours to record relevant information. Each transaction was recorded in

I suspect that most of us can view and appreciate most sports such as baseball, football, and basketball. What if you were to view a Cricket World Cup game? If you didn’t know the rules you probably would not have much fun. The same happens in business if you don’t understand its language – Accounting. What rules impact a business’ Accounting Information System? What types of compliance is required?

The purpose of accounting is to record the financial information, such as transactions and performance, related to a business. The accounting profession has been in existence for as long as business transactions have occurred. It wasn’t until 1494, however, when Luca Pacioli, a Venetian merchant, wrote Summa de Arithmetica, Geometrio, Proportioni et Proportionalita. His writings described a two-entry system of debits and credits, which became the basis for modern accounting systems. Three centuries later, with the emergence of the Industrial Revolution and the development of corporations, the profession of being an accountant became a necessity to keep track of the rising costs and cash flows. As a result, the American Association of Public

MC Wells ‘A Revolution in Accounting Thought’. The Accounting Review. V.LI. No.3. July 1976. pp471-82. The article does not have an abstract – write an abstract of no more than 400 words. A short guide to writing an abstract is provided. ----Answered by Wenxin

As the complexity of our financial economy develops it is important that our accounting standards progress in accordance. Accounting is very important to the development of the global and local economies. Accounting is basically the gathering, summarizing and presenting of financial information of an entity to interested internal, external and possible investors. This information should be presented in a non-bias way so that other people are able understand.

In addition to accountants providing many useful numbers that signal a company’s performance, they also prepare many useful documents and a code of ethics to make sure that all stakeholders have a clear picture on the business’s financial position. For instance, journaling is what accountants do after every transaction. These entries of what is exchanged in a business provide evidence that money deserves to be in a certain account. Especially since every journal entry needs a corresponding document that proves the record did happen, journals can be used by executives to see what really occurred in case a number in an account looks wrong (Schneider). It is also used when a government official suspects that the company is unfairly representing itself to either indict the business or prove its innocence. Journaling illustrates the importance of accounting since everything is documented and has proof for existence in the case of errors. One thing that journals go hand-in-hand with is the general ledger. This is the document that actually lists each individual account and the amount in it. It organizes the overall picture of every entity a business comes in contact with so that every important number can be put neatly into a financial statement.

The accounting system we use today started in Venice in renaissance period over 520 years ago. The trade business increased hugely during this time and all the financial recordings had to be written down to help people see how their business is doing. During that time in 1494 the first book about was published in accounting by Luca Paciolli and was called “The Collected Knowledge of Arithmetic, Geometry, Proportion and Proportionality”. He was called “The father of Accounting” and most of his described principles have been used up until this day.

To over view the knowledge we learnt from accounting theory and practice, the main thing I can conclude that is the tendency of accounting will shift away from technical way to people’s behaviour way. By understanding what should do, we should ask why and how we could improve and change it into a better way. This essay aims to explain how the theoretical material that we learn in lectures can be developed under a real practical manner.

When determining and defending the use of a particular ethical system within the confines of a profession, it is important to evaluate the system in terms of the professional culture as well as the expected professional conduct laid out within the vocation itself. The accounting profession has been evolving for thousands of years. Early accounting records date business transactions back as far as third century B.C. (Schroeder, Clark, & Cathey, 2009). Early record keeping was for internal purposes and as societies and economies expanded, it became important to maintain records for external purposes as well. According to Schroeder, Clark & Cathey (2009), by the ninetheeth centruy, bookkeeing expanded into accounting (p. 3). From this time, it has been the duty of the accountant to serve the public interest and the profession has been culitvated into an organizational culture with professional norms and standards constantly taking shape in an effort to complete an all-inclusive conceptual framework.

Ancient accounting started way back during the ancient civilization. However, double-entry bookkeeping started in the 14th century in Italy. The Italians of the 14th to 16th century were the first to practice the use of Arabic, rather than Roman, numerals for tracking business accounts. Luca Pacioli was acknowledged as the Father of Accounting and Bookkeeping. However, he was not the one who invented the double-entry bookkeeping system but he was the one who started to spread this knowledge and the first to publish his work on this system. The principles published by him remain mostly unchanged until today. Before his work, Benedetto Cotrugli wrote Delia Mercatura et del Mercante Perfetto (Of Trading and the Perfect Trader), that touches briefly about the features of double entry bookkeeping. Although the work of Benedetto Cotrugli had not been published for more than a century, Pacioli was familiar with the manuscript and he credited Cotrugli as the creator of the

Accounting is the language of business. It is a profession that is being guided by principles, concepts, conventions, laws, etc. All these fundamental building blocks serve as common and general compasses to all practitioners of the profession. In some cases, they are nation-wide tailored, while in other cases, they are universally tailored. Accounting as a living, practical, dynamic and realistic profession covers so many areas of social, economic (business), and governmental activities. Surely, any endeavour that involves monetary and material activities create a room for the services of Accounting. Many of the human endeavours for which the accounting profession plays significant (some times inevitable) roles include; Banking, Insurance, Manufacturing, Farming Contracting, Oil and Gas, Mining, Transportation (Air, Land and Sea), Educational Institutions, Churches, Ministries, ICT, Hire Purchase, Local Government Authorities, Estate Businesses, Export and Import Businesses, Bill of Exchange Transactions, Royalties Transactions, Consignment Transactions, Stock Market Transactions, Sports, Entertainment, Hospitals and Hospitality Industry, etc.