History of Accounting

Accounting has a history that is usually discussed in terms of one seminal event- the invention and dissemination of the double entry bookkeeping processes. Paul Garner and Atsuo Tsuji (1995) report that the first printed treatise of bookkeeping in the world is the Summa de Arithemetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalita written by Luca Pacioli. The treatise was published in Venice in 1494, and was reprinted at Toscolano in 1523. This work is one of the most important books on mathematics and has had an enormous impact on the field of accounting ever since. The Treatise 11 of Section 9 of this book – that is, â€Å"particulars de Coputis et Scripturis,† is a treatise about double entry bookkeeping. The system of bookkeeping that Luca Pacioli described first introduced the practice and theory that had developed in commercial cities in Italy, particularly in Venice. Pacioli wrote in the first chapter of his treatise, â€Å"We will here adopt the method employed in Venice which among others is certainly to be recommended, for with it one can carry with any other method†. Pacioli was born in Borgo San Sepolcro, lived in Venice and became the tutor of the three sons of a rich merchant, Antonio de Rompiasi. It seems that he could have had the chance to see the account books of the Venetian merchants and to study the method of double entry bookkeeping in Venice. The bookkeeping system that Luca Pacioli has several distinct characteristics: 1. Pacioli wrote that there are three things needed by one who wished to carry on business diligently. The most important of these is cash or any other substantial power. The second is a good accountant and a sharp bookkeeper. The third is good order in order to arrange all business to debit and credit. 2. Pacioli explained the opening inventory, but he did not describe the closing inventory. 3. Pacioli’s account book system is three account books- that is, a day book. The day book is the first book, the journal is the second book and the ledger is the third book. Pacioli thought of the day book as the formal account book, because he wrote that the day book must be presented to a certain mercantile office. 4. All things pertaining to a transaction must be written in the day book, without omission. Pacioli wrote that no point must be omitted in the day book. 5. Pacioli described debit and credit- that is, â€Å"per† and â€Å"A† in the journal, and â€Å"die have re† in the ledger. However, any view of accounting history that begins with Luca Pacioli’s contributions will overlook a long evolution of accounting systems in ancient and medieval times. In attempting to explain why double entry bookkeeping developed in 15th century Italy instead of ancient Greece or Rome, accounting scholar A. C. Littleton describes seven â€Å"key ingredients† which led to its creation. -Private Property: The power to change ownership, because bookkeeping is concerned with recording the facts about property rights. -Capital: Wealth productively employed, because otherwise commerce would be trivial and credit would not exist. -Commerce: The interchange of goods on a widespread level, because purely local trading in small volume would not create the sort of press of business needed to spur the creation of an organized system to replace the existing hodgepodge of record-keeping. -Credit: The present use of future goods, because there would have been little impetus to record transactions completed on the spot. – Writing: A mechanism for making a permanent record in a common language, given the limits of human memory. – Money: The â€Å"common denominator† for exchange, since there is no need for bookkeeping except as it reduces transactions to a set of monetary values. – Arithmetic: A method of computing the monetary details of the deal. Many of these factors did not exist in ancient times, but, until the Middle Ages, they were not found together in a form and strength necessary to push man to the innovation of double entry. Writing, for example, is as old as civilization itself, but arithmetic- the systematic manipulation of number symbols- was really not a tool possessed by the ancients. Rather, the persistent use of Roman numerals for financial transactions long after the introduction of Arabic numeration appears to have constrained the earlier creation of double-entry systems.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Walt Disney Company

In organizations where there seems to be an increasing focus on unethical behavior within public companies from senior managers, it is vital that organizations establish policies and processes to ensure that it is complying with the rules and regulations put in place by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Walt Disney Company is able to meet its reporting requirements for the Security and Exchange Commission by using the following resources. The availability of technology, internal disclosure controls, internal controls over financial reporting, and independent accounting auditors who verify that these controls are in place and working as intended. The SEC requires that Disney posts all Interactive Data Files. These files are required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months. Viewing the Investor Relations tab of The Walt Disney Company corporate website shows that historical SEC filings are listed by category for a variety of required reports, including forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, 11-K, S-8, 425, S-4, and proxy statements. Disney uses internal disclosure controls by their policy that all SEC filings be signed by a senior member of the management. These people are President, CFO, Managing VP and Internal Counsel helps ensure that the filings are correct, comply with reporting requirements, and are communicated to the other stakeholders in the management of Disney. These are Board of Directors and other Senior Members of the management team. In an era where CEOs and CFOs are continually being called before US Congress to testify on the financial situation within their firms, this policy adds a layer of accountability to senior management. Internal Controls over Financial Reporting. Company management explicitly acknowledges their accountability for being able to create accurate, reliable, sufficiently detailed, and timely external financial reports Independent Accounting Auditors. Disney makes use of PricewaterhouseCoopers as an independent auditing firm to provide a third party analysis of their internal controls over financial reporting. In addition, PricewaterhouseCoopers’ own report to the Board of Directors and Shareholders of The Walt Disney Company is included in the Annual Report and discusses the process by which Disney’s internal controls over financial reporting are tested and audited to provide a reasonable level of assurance that the controls are working and that external financial reports are being reported based on generally accepted accounting principles as required by U. S. Law. By following all of the procedures that Disney has put into place they can be positive that they are following the SEC rules and regulations.

Novel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Novel - Essay Example Whether Ryan will be able to do the justice to the task assigned to him, while solving a mystery of his past simultaneously. There seems to be no clear link between the abduction of his friends and the murder of Katy, except that they both occurred at the same place with a gap of twenty years. It appears as if Ryan is so disturbed by his past that he cannot analyze the situation critically. Dealing professional consignments with personal motives may end up in a blunder, and this is very much the case with Ryan’s search for the truth. In the start of the novel, the narrator explains the relationship between truth and detectives as that of a most desirable woman and her jealous lovers. He also warns the readers in the start that he craves for truth yet he lies (French, p.5). This is the paradox of the story, because Ryan has not revealed his identity of Adam Ryan, who was found in the woods in the summers of 1984. Therefore, Ryan’s services towards truth have been based on a lie. At the end of the novel Ryan receives the punishment for his dishonesty towards his lover, when he is removed from the case as well as he is restricted to a desk job. Ryan was after all not a good detective, because he did not respect the demands of his profession. A detective must use his mind while investigating a crime; he needs to be clear of all the prejudicial biases. The reason why Ryan was taken of the case was the fact that he was involved in similar incidence in the earlier part of his life. If he had been true to his pro fession, he would have not been transferred to the desk job; rather, the maximum that could have happened to him would be cancellation of investigation in only one case. Ryan took the matter personally, his conduct was based on logical fallacies, and as result of which he had to suffer. One can feel apologetic towards Ryan, but on rational grounds it

Adversarial System vs Inquisitorial System Essay

Adversarial System vs Inquisitorial System - Essay Example They state that after one side of the proceedings wins the case, there is always a sense of closure for those who have been involved in the case. Moreover, it is always rare to find anyone who has any grievance concerning how the proceedings took place, because they believe that justice has been done. On the other hand, the proponents of the inquisitorial judicial system often state that this system is more suitable because it caters for social change as well as ensuring the creation of an efficient policy for court proceedings. This creates an environment where cases are dealt with swiftly and efficiently, and because the court has a hand in the investigations, it is a rare thing for false evidence to be presented. Moreover, the inquisitorial proceedings help ensure that the cost of legal proceedings remains low, because the court caters for the expenditure of the investigations being carried out (Ringnalda 120). When one closely considers these systems, one would say that the inqui sitorial system is more efficient in dealing with cases than adversarial system. In this paper, we shall analyze both of these systems and their application in various situations, assessing their strengths and weaknesses. The adversarial system is a judicial system that involves two opposing parties being represented by advocates, who defend the position of these parties before a group of people who are considered objective. In most of the cases handled under an adversarial system, the divergent parties present their cases before a judge for arbitration. This system is quite different from the inquisitorial system, where a judge, or a group of them, has a direct hand in the investigation of the cases, which have been brought before them. This is an advantage over the inquisitorial system because in such a system, there is always likelihood that the judge may be impartial in making decisions concerning the case. Consequently, the judge may end up making a decision in favor of the par ty to which he or she is partial. This is not the case in an adversarial system because the purpose of the judge is to listen to the proceedings and make a balanced decision based on the evidence presented by the parties involved. In this system, it does not matter which side is correct as long as the evidence presented gives an advantage to one party. The adversarial system is used in almost every country that practices common law, although there are exceptions in some instances, especially where the common law cannot be applied. This system has a structure of two sides, one dedicated to the defense, while the other is dedicated to the prosecution. The structure operates in a way that puts the defense against the prosecution, and the side that is able to make the more convincing argument ends up winning the case. This structure is set up in a way that justice is only achieved when the side with the best argument wins, despite the fact that the side that wins may be in the wrong. Th erefore, it is the task either of both the defense and the prosecution to convince a judge or in some cases a jury, that they are right. It is for the jury to decide which side has given a more convincing argument, and come up with a verdict (â€Å"Adversarial and Inquisitorial Legal Systems†). This is not the case in an inquisitorial system, because the parties involved might feel that they are at the mercy of the judge presiding over the case. Such a situation would make these parties not to be confident in the legal proceedings. They might feel that the judge might not have their best interests at heart when making decisions. Another advantage which the adversarial sys