History Of Accounting Essays - 1196 Words

Once upon a time, Luca Pacioli wrote a math book. It was just a little survey and should have been treated like ordinary books of the time and read and then disappeared into historical archives and forgotten. A few brief chapters on practical mathematics made this one special. The time was 1494. Columbus had discovered America just two years before. The author was a Franciscan monk. The chapter on practical mathematics addressed mathematics in business. He said that the successful merchant needs three things: sufficient cash or credit, an accounting system that can tell him how he ¡Ã‚ ¯s doing, and good bookkeeper to operate it. His accounting system consisted of journals and ledgers. It rested on the invention of double-entry†¦show more content†¦Citing the needs of courts to employ public accountants  ¡Ã‚ °to aid those Courts in their investigation of matters of accounting ¡Ã‚ ± select accountants were titled  ¡Ã‚ °Chartered Accountants. ¡Ã‚ ± The US equivalent title is  ¡Ã‚ °Certified Public Accountant ¡Ã‚ ±. These titles are used to this day. The arrival of the income tax laws were another major event in accounting history. Attorneys naturally thought that since income tax returns were legal documents, they would have exclusive rights to prepare them. Accountants replied that since that the bulk of the work in preparing a return involved accounting calculations, they were more properly accounting work. The substance of the tasks trumped legal argumentation. US law firms in the 1920 ¡Ã‚ ¯s were slow to incorporate income tax preparations into their business skills. Public accountants saw a new lucrative opportunity and jumped into tax work with both feet. By the time the lawyers challenged the accountants for practicing law without a license, income tax preparation had been so thoroughly identified with accountants that they lost the case. The Great Depression rocked the integrity of the accounting profession. The British Steamship Company was just one of the large world giants that went bankrupt just after posting large profits.  ¡Ã‚ °How could profitable companies go bankrupt? ¡Ã‚ ± Investors asked. Court cases showed that the economic reality was that the companies weren ¡Ã‚ ¯t profitable after all. The profits were the result ofShow MoreRelatedThe History Of Accounting811 Words   |  4 PagesToday, Im gonna cover, its a reader question that Ive had submitted right here, but I want to talk about it in a different context than how it reads. So, Im gonna start off with saying this. Doing the right thing, or what you perceived to be the right thing about your unaffordable debt doesnt necessarily get you the results that youre thinking. How does that add up? All right, so, I want to get in to the reader question and Im gonna answer very distinctly and directly to start with. And thenRead MoreHistory of Accounting in Nigeria725 Words   |  3 PagesHistory of Accounting in Nigeria The institutionalization of Accounting started in Britain, from where Accounting was imported to Nigeria. During the preindependence period, in Nigeria, especially before the establishment of the Collages of Arts and Sciences (particularly the one in Ibadan), people who wanted to enroll into accounting profession had to be trained through article ship. This meant that, they had to be attached as apprentices to those in the profession already. When the College ofRead MoreHistory and Development of Accounting2085 Words   |  9 PagesAccounting is defined by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) as the art of recording, classifying, and summarizing in a significant manner and in terms of money, transactions and events which are, in part at least, of financial character, and interpreting the results thereof. Accounting is thousands of years old; the earliest accounting records, which date back more than 7,000 years, were found in Mesopotamia (Assyrians). The people of that time relied on primitive accountingRead More History of Accounting Essay3089 Words   |  13 PagesHistory of Accounting The history of accounting I feel is important in the learning, understanding, and developing of my foundation for my accounting career. In this report you will learn about the development of accounting. You will learn about the people who influenced accounting the most throughout the years. You will learn how accounting came about and how it was used in the ancient times. You will learn about the invention of the double-entry bookkeeping processes. You will learnRead MoreEssay on The History of Accounting1013 Words   |  5 Pages The origin of accounting primarily consists of the establishment of human society and commerce. The idea of accounting is an old practice that has been dated since the Mesopotamia era. During this era, trade between tribes around Mesopotamia required records to be kept on stone and clay tablets. This took place at least 3600BC, where in those times, the ‘scribes’ who possessed a knowledge of writing also served as bookkeepers. Overall, accounting has made significant contributions over the pastRead MoreEnron : Questionable Accounting History1364 Words   |  6 PagesEnron: Questionable Accounting Leads to Collapse Enron, a provider of natural gas, electricity, and communications began when two large gas pipeline companies merged together in 1985. CEO Jeffrey Skilling, CFO Andrew Fastow, and Chairman Ken Lay worked diligently throughout the 1990s to build the company to be the largest most successful of its time. Having its name in Wall Street was becoming a norm for the company as it grew beyond all hopes and expectations. The company had become unstoppableRead MoreHistory Of Accounting And Private Sector1534 Words   |  7 PagesIntroduction Since the early 1980s public sector accounting and private sector accounting have experienced significant transformation such as decentralization, deregulation and the differences between thee two sectors are highly topical and political in many countries (Blondal 2003). The key transformation is the adoption of ‘accrual basis’ of accounting rather than ‘cash basis’ accounting by increasing number of countries (Guthrie and Ryan 1998). Meanwhile, public sectors refer specifically to organizationsRead More The History and Role of Accounting in Business Essays1533 Words   |  7 PagesAccounting can be defined in a number of ways, but I chose the book definition, which is; Accounting is an information system that provides reports to stakeholders about the economic activities and condition of business. The person in charge of accounting is called the accountant. The accountant is typically required to follow a set of rules and regulations. These rules and regul ations are called the General Accepted Accounting Principles. Throughout these next few paragraphs, I will be giving youRead MoreHistory and Development of Accounting Standards Essay2637 Words   |  11 PagesAccounting has been around since the beginning of civilization.  ¡Ã‚ §Accountants participated in the development of cities, trade, and the concepts of wealth and numbers. ¡Ã‚ ¨ (Giroux) The importance of accounting cannot be overemphasized. Equally important are the standards used to guild the application of accounting practice. Without principles and standards, financial reporting would not fairly present the financial position of a company. Accounting has changed and evolved vastly over time and continuesRead MoreHistory Of Scientific Management And Its Impact On Managerial Accounting Essay1825 Words   |  8 PagesHISTORY OF SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT The primary goal for the managers within an organization should be to best utilize resources contributed by the shareholders of the organization to create and grow profits and revenues. In addition, the primary goal for an employee should be to earn the highest pay possible at his or her job level, while developing skills to maximize his or her efficiency. These two goals, along with other factors, are critical considerations in the long-term success of an organization