NPR Pocast
Arabs as we know (if you don't know you will know now) invented as numbers we write in math from 1-9.
Zero came from Hindus.
Romans who had alphabets for numbers X,V ,C,N,I lost the game..
Venice which was part Manhattan and part silicon valley in 14th century was where this whole story starts.
In short with Luca Pacioli we wont have accounting and book keeping as he practically invented this concept.
What is the big deal?
For starters (we are all starters in one field or the other)
Double-entry means that money is never gained nor lost---it is always transferred from somewhere (a source account) to somewhere else (a destination account).
The fact that people started writing down helped them learn what is profitable .what is not.
Think.. Just writing down where you are in a numeric scale gives you a baseline to compare. i had 3 cows now 3. Where did the 3 cows go? Forget that, that is not the question - the question is i am 50% down .. so I need to get sheeps not cows...
Accounting is a boring subject to me. What is fascinating is the concept that there are people who invented this, who use this and make tons of money using this.
Next time you meet an accountant ask them who invented double entry accounting? (Don't forget these are accounts so they can cook up some facts for you!)
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