Although evidence of accounting practices date back to earlier civilizations, the founding father of modern double-entry bookkeeping was an Italian monk by the name of Luca Pacioli, who is also attributed with the identification of the geometric concept known as the Golden Section. The creation of private property rights, the growth of commerce, and the development of trading on credit served as incentives for the development of modern accounting. Luca Pacioli demonstrated an affinity for mathematics at an early age. Pacioli, like many of his contemporaries exchanged ideas with other Renaissance thinkers in what might be described as an early form of social networking.

Luca Pacioli, Renaissance Thinker

Pacioli began as a protégé of the painter, Piero della Francesca, who in turn introduced him to some of the great minds of the Renaissance. Pacioli eventually moved to Venice and studied at the Univerity in Padua. Later in life, he took his vows as a Franciscan monk and incorporated his moral beliefs and faith in God into his work. By asserting that merchants should make honest profits in an ethical way, Pacioli was perhaps one of the earliest proponents of accounting transparency.

The Development of Double-Entry Bookkeeping

Pacioli’s writing on the double-entry method for recording transaction data is the basis of contemporary accounting methodology. Although he did not create the system, he used his skill as a technical writer to codify the practice so effectively, that it remains essentially unchanged today. From this enlightened origin the accounting profession developed to encompass sub-disciplines and create a variety of related job classifications.

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