Accounting history

Why Study Accounting History?

The history of accounting is as old as civilization, key to important phases of history, among the most important professions in economics and business, and fascinating. Accountants participated in the development of cities, trade, and the concepts of wealth and numbers. Accountants invented writing, participated in the development of money and banking, invented double entry bookkeeping that fueled the Italian Renaissance, saved many Industrial Revolution inventors and entrepreneurs from bankruptcy, helped develop the confidence in capital markets necessary for western capitalism, and are central to the information revolution that is transforming the global economy.

There are no household names among the accounting innovators; in fact, virtually no names survive before the Italian Renaissance. It took archaeologists to dig up the early history and scholars from many fields to demonstrate the importance of accounting to so many aspects of economics and culture. The role of accountants in the ancient world is coming into clearer focus with new archaeological discoveries and innovative interpretations of the artifacts. It is now evident that writing developed over 5,000 years--by accountants. It is difficult to overestimate the importance of double entry bookkeeping. It was central to the success of Italian merchants, necessary to the birth of the Renaissance. Industrial Revolution firms required accountants to provide the information necessary to avoid bankruptcy and their role developed into a profession. Big business required capital markets that depended on accurate and useful information. This was supplied by what became an accounting profession. Today, a global real-time integrated information system is a reality, suggesting new accounting paradigms. Understanding history is needed to develop the linkages to predict this future.