Merchant Cash Advance in the Retail Sector, Its Advantages and Disadvantages
The retail sector has some unique financial needs. There are various types of retail establishment across the world which use different types of arrangements to fund their day-to-day capital needs. The larger and more sophisticated retail chains have access to formal loans from banks. However, this may not be the case for small and medium […]
Functions of the Money Market
Money markets are large and liquid markets. They exist in almost every country which has a developed financial system. The existence of a thriving and highly liquid money market in every economy of the world is not a mere coincidence. There are certain functions that are performed by the money market. Some of these functions […]
Smart Contracts in Cryptocurrency
Smart contracts is another term that is commonly used within the cryptocurrency community. For the layman, this term can be intimidating if they do not know the meaning of the term. However, once the meaning is explained, the term and its implications become quite easy to understand. Also, the various applications of the smart contract […]
Capital Structure Ratios – Meaning and Importance
Capital structure ratios are very important to analyze the financial statements of any company for the following reasons: Same Business Can Yield Different Returns Investors understand that the way a business is funded can have a lot of impact on the returns it provides. Although the total return provided will always be the same, the […]
Over the Counter Markets
Over the counter markets are a particular type of financial market. Generally, financial markets are centralized. This means that there is one central body that is a counterparty to all the trades being made. For instance, if A wants to trade with B, the transaction does not happen directly. Instead, A trades with the centralized […]
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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