Antecedents of the Accounting Profession
It's good to know the origin of a practice used by all companies and people today, from simple to complex transactions, to maintain a record of all financial transactions and avoid fraud and ensure transparency, according to regulations and laws.
An early Mesopotamian civilization first record transaction on a stone , (3600 BC) and on clay tables. ( 3200 BC ). Here we find the first example of recording a transaction. 3000 BC, in the Cretan and Hebrew civilization, the scribes, a person that help keep track of records, play a very important role due to great maritime and commercial activities. Israel was wealthy and the scribes were people of great influence. In Ancient Greece, with the increase in government’s revenues the accounting and auditing methods were very important. In the golden period ( 461- 429 BC ) each citizen reported their own expenditures. Athens had the accountants to audit the collection of taxes. Later, the Roman Empire used financial officers ‘’quaestors “the king’s eyes and ears, to periodically report to Rome, also they were audited by an examiner; here the word ‘auditor’ came into use. Severe penalties were implemented, in the case of tax evasions..
In the middle ages, accounting suffered a decline, after Charlemagne’s death. However, later it was reestablished. The accounting methods of imperial Rome were revived in Italy.
In the fifteenth century we have evidence of systematic auditing and from the sixteenth, we have evidence of audits of both the government and industry.
In summary, the need to keep track of transactions began to be a need thousands of years ago. A practice that has evolved over time, resulting today, a standardized technique to record and control.
Response to: Lina Darsa:
You did a good summary of the origin of accounting and auditing Lina. It is very important to know the past to understand the present. Knowing that what we have today, were...