History of Accounting
The Early Days of Accounting
It is a truism that, historically, the people
who proved to be the best at counting where those that
owned a lot of things. The prosperity of the modern day
accounting profession is evidence that this still holds
true today.
There are many well known accountants in
ancient history, but their names tend not to be recorded
due to the discreet nature of their profession. It has
chiefly been due to the efforts of archaeologists that
the critical role of accountants in shaping history is
now coming to light. Indeed most archaeologists are now
of the opinion that the development of writing over the
last 5,000 years was largely driven by accountants. This
happened due to the desire of property owners to record
the value of their assets.
What has Accounting Contributed to History?
Accountants have always held
influential positions in the history of civilization and
were instrumental in the development of a number of key
historical innovations, including money itself, the
banking system, world trade, and the concept of wealth.
In addition, accountants have been the force behind many
significant historical events, including the Italian
Renaissance, the industrial revolution, the development
of western capitalism, and the revolution in information
technology.
Plus, it shouldn’t be forgotten that the
ubiquitous “double-entry bookkeeping system” helped to
move humankind out of the dark ages by being a critical
tool for the Italian merchants who were the power behind
the Italian Renaissance.
The status of the accounting profession grew
steadily from that time and was enhanced further during
the industrial revolution when accountants helped to
secure much needed finance for the businesses of the
day.
The Development of Accounting
As business became more and more complex and
enterprises became larger, it was accountants who
provided the necessary information to the newly emerging
liquid capital markets that enabled finance to be more
easily and more widely available.
Today, XBRL (extensible business reporting
language), an open freely-available, market-driven,
global standard for exchanging business information is
enabling the long-coveted aspiration of a worldwide,
real-time, integrated information system and the
globalization of accounting standards.
Other Information of Interest
Annual Reports of the Minehill & Schuylkill Railroad
The
Big Eight
Financing the Civil War: The Office of Internal Revenue
and the Use of Revenue Stamps
Famous Accountants
Accounting Scandals
