Father of Accounting- Maths teacher of Leonardo Da Vinci

January 16th, 2007

The father of accounting Luca Pacioli studied in Venice and Rome and was a travelling mathematics tutor until 1497. Then he moved to Milan where he lived with and taught mathematics to Leonardo da Vinci.

His fifth book, Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalita (Everything About Arithmetic, Geometry and Proportion) was written as a digest and guide to existing mathematical knowledge, and bookkeeping was only one of five topics covered. His book is the first published description of the method of keeping accounts that Venetian merchants during that part, known as double entry accounting system.He described the use of journals and ledgers, and warned that a person should not go to sleep at night until the debits equalled the credits! His ledger had accounts for assets (including receivables and inventories), liabilities, capital, income, and expenses—the account categories that are reported on an organization’s balance sheet and income statement, respectively. He demonstrated year-end closing entries and proposed that a trial balance be used to prove a balanced ledger. Also, his treatise touches on a wide range of related topics from accounting ethics to cost accounting.

Entry Filed under: Finance/Accounting