International Accounting Day (Accountant Day)

International Accounting Day is celebrated on November 10th The date, which unites all people in the profession, was chosen in honor of the events of the 15th century and the outstanding personality of that time - the mathematician Luca Pacioli He is considered the founder of modern accounting, and his book, published on November 10, 1494, “The Sum of Arithmetic, Geometry, Relations and Proportions,” included a section that for the first time described in detail the accounting affairs of that time Pacioli was born in 1445 in Borgo San Sepolcro, a small town in the Florentine Republic, where he received his early education and worked as an apprentice to an artist A wealthy Venetian merchant noticed the talented boy and hired him as a tutor for his three sons He continued his education, and by 1470 he had compiled the first textbook of commercial arithmetic Then he taught at the oldest university in Italy, and after taking monastic vows, he studied not only mathematics, but also theology His varied interests contributed to his friendship with Leonardo da Vinci, and several works were done jointly Pacioli died in 1517, leaving his descendants with amazing, encyclopedic knowledge, formulated in simple and understandable language His most famous book was written in Italian (rather than Latin), and this contributed to its spread as it served as the only textbook on accounting He did not invent the system from scratch, but described the methods and principles of operation It covers much of the accounting cycle as it was used in the profession for the next four centuries, including the double entry way of doing business He introduced journals and registers into use, developed rules about debtors and trustees (debtors and creditors) and warned that the accountant should not sleep until the debit equals the credit For his fundamental work, he received the status of “father of accounting,” although the history of primitive accounting began thousands of years ago The reason was the dawn of the Sumerian, Chaldean and Assyrian civilizations, when the ancestors of modern farmers became financially strong The rulers owned significant amounts of land and livestock, and of course wanted to control this In palaces, temples, and large cities there were scribes who had a separate title and performed the necessary accounting activities, while simultaneously recording data on clay tablets or more expensive papyrus Thus, the double entry system was known in Mesopotamia in 3500 BC e Seals with the names of their owners and religious symbols with images of gods sealed the deal In ancient Egypt, accounting practices at the government level developed in a manner similar to those in the Mesopotamian Valley But ancient Egyptian accounting never progressed beyond the compilation of lists But the Greeks made a more significant contribution to the evolution of accounting systems in the form of the introduction of coined money in 600 BC e and development of the banking system In ancient Rome, accounts were recorded by the heads of families or their proxies, and daily payments and receipts were kept in a special “diary” There were also monthly checks, called codes and expenses in Italian The management of public expenditures was entrusted to auditors, who were supposed to provide data to the Roman Senate The period of the Italian Renaissance and the development of trade gave the world the works of Pacioli, which should be read by professionals - people with a “discerning and inquisitive mind,” as the mathematician himself put it Today, without a qualified accountant, no organization can exist and grow A prestigious professional competition (Accounting Case Competition) is dedicated to the holiday, allowing participants to realistically assess their accounting skills and competence, as well as experience real-life practical scenarios The event has its own concept with the intention of encouraging students and staff to enrich their knowledge Technology does not stand still - software has created a significant shift in the industry For those who embrace change, there are additional opportunities to improve high-performing processes The prosperity of not only private companies, but also the economy of the entire state depends on the competent work of specialists in this field Let us add that Accountant's Day in Russia is celebrated annually on November 21