The history of accounting

The history of accounting

Luca Pacioli who was known as the father of accounting born in 1446 in Sansepolcro where he also received his earlier education known as abbaco education. The knowledge he got was focused on knowledge required by merchants. While working as a tutor to the three sons of merchant, he continued his own education in Venice in 1464 and during this time he wrote his first book on accounting. Then he wrote a comprehensive abbaco textbook in vernacular for his students who were studying from him during the period of 1477 and 1478. Then he started teaching at the University level in Italy and he taught in numbers of Universities in Italy including Perugia, holding the first chair in mathematics and contributing his knowledge to his students. In 1494, his first book on Summa de arithmetica, geometria and proportioni et proportionalita got the publication in the city of Venice in Italy.
It was the time when he got huge reception for his work written on geometry, arithmetic and mathematical proportions. Then in 1497, he got a invitation to resume his working in Milan from Lodovico Sforza where he collaborated and transferred his ideas on mathematics and taught mathematics to Leonardo da Vinci. When the Louis XII of France captured the city and drove their patron out, it was the time when Pacioli and Leonardo had to leave the city of Milan in 1499. In 1517, Pacioli died at the age of 70 in Sansepolcro where he spent most of his time at the final years of his life.
  

The contribution of Luca pacioli in accounting was honored by accountants around the world who gathered in San Sepulcro an Italian village to pay their huge tribute to his book published on double-entry accounting. The first accounting book which was published 1494 was based on five sections in his Mathematical book title in which he showed ‘Everything about Arithmetic, Geometry and Proportions’. Until the 16th century, this book written on accounting served as the only textbook on accounting around the world and due to this significant contribution, Luca Pacioli, was no doubt the father of accounting
The system he introduced in his book of accounting was mostly the accounting cycle which is well-known in the modern world of accounting. Luca Pacioli introduced the use of journals and ledgers in accounting systems and warned that the accountant must not sleep until the debits are equalled to credits. The ledgers he introduced were based on assets receivables and inventories, liabilities, capital, expenditure and income accounts.
Friar Luca also demonstrated the entries which the companies can use for their yearend and he proposed the entry of trial balance for a balanced ledger. He also introduced wide range of topics ranging from accounting ethics to cost accounting. His proposed accounting entries and end closing entries became so famous that they were widely used in industrial and financial organizations in the modern world. Today, no organization can ignore his proposed journal and ledger accounting system and then showing the balance of debits and credits to get the desired results for the organizations.