During the Renaissance , art experienced an undeniable apogee, but so did other subjects. One of them, the algebra of which precisely the most important treatise of all was written. Its manager was Luca Pacioli, known as the “father of accounting” of whom we now explain all his contributions and curious data.
Luca Pacioli: contributions and curious facts about the father of accounting
Luca Pacioli (1447-1517) was the first person to publish detailed material on the double entry accounting system (or double entry method). He was an Italian mathematician and Franciscan friar who also collaborated with his friend Leonardo da Vinci (who also took math lessons from Pacioli).
Luca Pacioli is said to have relied on the procedures used by Venetian merchants during the Italian Renaissance for the publication of his works for the double entry accounting system. Most of the accounting principles and cycles described by Pacioli are still in use to this day. Its documentation includes journals, ledgers, year-end close dates, trial balances, cost accounting, accounting ethics, Rule 72 (developed 100 years before Napier and Briggs), and extensive work on the accounting system of Double entry.
The “Summa”
His great contribution to the algebra of the time, made it known through
most famous of his works, the “Summa di arithmetica, geometrica, proportionate and proportionalita”, better known as “Summa” and published in 1494 with drawings in addition to DaVinci.
As its name suggests, the “Summa” is a true encyclopedia that brings together all the arithmetic and mathematical knowledge of the time for educational purposes. The accounting section occupies no less than 36 chapters. Pacioli gives advice and remembers some obvious facts. To do business, write, you need capital but the most important thing is that others have confidence in your word; to be successful, a merchant must know how to calculate and keep his accounts, be orderly and meticulous … Pacioli then launches into a detailed account of what is not yet called “double accounting” – the expression dated from the 18th century – but “method Venetian ‘because of its supposed origin. How to fill in the memorial, ledger and journal, how to correct errors by cross-entry, how to establish balance, profit or loss.
But Pacioli not only focused on the study and development of his method and other theories about accounting. For a certain period, he taught mathematics to the three sons of a wealthy Venetian merchant. In fact, he had become one of the family and accompanied Messer Rompiasi on many business trips , allowing him to realize the growing importance of the commercial use of arithmetic.
