Why Timing the Market is a Bad Idea ?
Stock market investments can be akin to gambling depending on the procedure used for making these investments. If the investments are rooted in fundamental research, then they are the result of skilled judgment and therefore cannot be called gambling. On the other hand, many investors invest in the stock market as if it was a […]
Protectionist Sentiment over Flipkart Takeover
The Wal-Mart Flipkart deal has become historic in many aspects. Firstly, this is the biggest, most valued takeover of a company in India. Also, it gives entry to Wal-Mart to enter India via the e-commerce route. Many believe that this deal will pave the way for increasing globalization by increasing the FDI limit for the […]
Estimating Future Dividends
We have discussed various types of dividend payout models. We have discussed the Gordon growth model, the H model, one stage, two stage, multi-stage and even spreadsheet models. These models are varied in their approach towards calculating the value of a firm. Yet the common link amongst these models is the fact that they all […]
Spanish Property Bubble of 2008
Spain’s economy has been in an unprecedented decline since 2008. The average Spaniard found himself unemployed and had a huge mortgage bill to pay. An entire country has been bankrupted by the seemingly insatiable lust to acquire increasing quantities of real estate which drove the prices higher. This article will trace the beginning of this […]
Paper-Work in Job Order Costing
Quotation: The job begins with a quotation given to a client. For the client, all that matters in the quotation are the costs involved. However, for the contractor, quotation is almost a research document. Giving out quotations requires estimation. Contractors usually have fixed methodologies for estimating these costs. A study of past quotations can tell […]
One can never really understand a subject, unless they know where it came from. Therefore, a short history of the subject of accounting may be of interest to students of accounting. Here is a very brief history of how accounting evolved:
Accounting is as old as financial transactions themselves. As soon as credit was invented, humans began to use accounting to simplify their lives. As expected, the oldest system of accounting used single entry accounting. This is the most intuitive form of accounting but is also incomplete. Records have been found on clay tablets in ancient Mesopotamia that show the existence of single entry accounting in that time.
Prior to rise of European commerce in the Medieval Ages, India was the primary center for bustling trade and commercial activity. Although there has been no record of this fact, but is claimed that Indian merchants had very advanced accounting systems at that time. These systems were called the Bahi Khata system. It is rumored that the westerners designed the double entry system based on the principles of Bahi Khata system but once again there is no conclusive proof.
The birthplace of modern day accounting is Venice. In the Medieval Ages, Venice was a center of trade and commercial activity. Merchants had giant businesses and they were struggling to run these corporations efficiently.
It is then that Luca Pacioli developed the double entry accounting system. There is still debate about whether he developed it or just improved it and made it available to the merchants. However, debate or no debate, Luca Pacioli is considered to be the “Father of Modern Day Accounting”.
In the era of colonialism, chartered corporations were common. The government would approve certain companies and give them exclusive rights to trade with certain colonies. Citizens were encouraged to invest in such companies. Shares of a few such companies had paid rich dividends and hence it was common to invest in such companies.
However, the performance of such companies had to be reported to the shareholders on a periodic basis. Therefore accounting systems were further developed. They were now providing information to external shareholders apart from providing information to internal management.
The chartered companies have long gone. The world is now a free market. But information still needs to be provided to the external shareholders about the conduct of operations. Accounting, therefore has been further developed and is highly regulated in most countries.
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An Overview of Contracts and Why They are Important to Business and Society
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