Evolution of Accounting – Vocabulary Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, figures, and developments from primitive record-keeping through the Information Age as outlined in the lecture notes.

Primitive Accounting

The earliest form of record-keeping that emerged alongside civilization, using simple physical tokens and markings.

Bullae

Clay or bitumen sealings (c. 8500 B.C.) from Mesopotamia used to mark ownership or witness transactions—one of the first accounting artifacts.

Code of Hammurabi

Babylonian legal code (c. 1792–1750 B.C.) that standardized weights, measures, and rules for commercial transactions.

Abacus

Bead-and-frame calculator first used in Sumeria (~3600 B.C.) for counting and performing basic arithmetic.

Papyrus

Paper-like material (c. 4000 B.C.) on which Egyptians kept tax receipts, court records, and other administrative accounts.

Greek Government Accounts

System used in ancient Greece to apportion revenue and track total receipts, payments, and balances of the state.

Coined Money

Metal currency introduced around 600 B.C., enabling standardized monetary accounting in Greek and other economies.

Middle-Ages Bookkeeping

Merchant record-keeping that expanded after Europe’s shift to a monetary economy in the 13th century.

Arabic Numerals

Numeric symbols popularized by movable type in the 1400s, making calculations faster and lowering fraud in records.

Use of Credit

Practice of buying now and paying later that required more detailed bookkeeping in medieval commerce.

International Banking System

Network of medieval European banks facilitating cross-border trade, letters of credit, and currency exchange.

Double-Entry Records

System in which every transaction is recorded with at least one debit and one credit; first appeared in Genoa (11th century).

Genoa

Italian city where the earliest known double-entry bookkeeping records emerged during the Middle Ages.

Florentine Method

Early 13th-century double-entry system developed by Amatino Manucci for Giovanni Farolfi & Company in Florence.

Venetian Approach

14th-century bookkeeping style using bilateral ledger pages (debits left, credits right) and multiple cross-indexed books.

Amatino Manucci

Florentine merchant-partner credited as inventor of double-entry bookkeeping through his 1211 ledger.

Giovanni Farolfi & Company

Florentine merchant firm whose records provide the oldest evidence of full double-entry bookkeeping.

Luca Pacioli

Italian mathematician (1445–1517) called the “Father of Modern Accounting” for codifying the Venetian method.

Summa de Arithmetica

Pacioli’s 1494 book explaining journals, ledgers, and the debit-credit process of double-entry bookkeeping.

Jerome Cardan

Renaissance scholar (1518) who wrote one of the earliest follow-up texts on bookkeeping techniques.

Simon Stevin

Flemish mathematician who advanced decimal notation and contributed to early accounting literature.

Charles Hatton

16th-century author noted for writings on practical bookkeeping in England.

Robert Hamilton

Scottish scholar who produced influential 18th-century works on accounting principles.

Jacques Savary

French merchant who drafted the 1673 Code of Savary, detailing commercial laws and accounting practices.

Code of Savary

1673 French commercial code emphasizing historical-cost valuation and comprehensive merchant record-keeping.

Code of Napoleon

Civil code imposed in 1804 that, together with later additions, influenced European commercial accounting law.

Code de Commerce

1807 supplement to the Napoleonic Code regulating business transactions and recommending market-value inventory.

Nicolas Petri

Early accountant who grouped transactions separately and posted monthly totals to the journal for clarity.

Benjamin Workman

Author of “The American Accountant” (1769), the earliest known U.S. accounting textbook.

Industrial Revolution

18th- to 19th-century period that spurred factory-based business structures and a need for cost accounting.

Cost Accounting

Specialized field developed during the Industrial Revolution to measure, analyze, and control production costs.

Tax Accounting (Xin Dynasty)

System in 10 C.E. China focused on improving timing and amount of tax collection through structured records.

Financial Accounting

Branch concerned with matching efforts (expenses) and results (revenues) to report business performance.

Information Age

Modern era characterized by digital technology and rapid data processing, transforming accounting tools and skills.

VisiCalc

First electronic spreadsheet (1979) created by Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston, revolutionizing computerized accounting.