An integral part of the modern economicsystem accounting acts. As shown by historical practice, ideas about money and their turnover have an indissoluble connection with the existing economic order. With the development of statehood, it became necessary to systematize and streamline financial transactions. A huge contribution to this task was made by Luca Pacioli - the "father" of accounting. Further we learn what the merit of this mathematician is.
Luca Pacioli: biography
He was born in 1445 in the Apennines, in a smallthe city of Borgo Sansepolcro. As a boy he was sent to a local monastery to study to an artist. In 1464 Luca Pacioli moved to Venice. There he was engaged in the education of merchants' sons. It was at that moment that his first acquaintance with financial activity took place. In 1470, Luca Pacioli (photo mathematics presented in the article) moved to Rome. There he is completing his textbook on commercial arithmetic. After Rome, the mathematician leaves for three years to Naples. There he was engaged in trade, but, apparently, unsuccessfully. In 1475-76 he took his monastic vows and joined the Franciscan order. From 1477, Luca Pacioli taught for 10 years at the University of Perugia. During his time, his ability to teach was repeatedly marked by salary increases. Working at the university, he created the main work, one of whose chapters was "A Treatise on Records and Accounts."
In 1488, the mathematician left the pulpit and went to Rome.For the next five years he was in the state of Pietro Valletari (bishop). In 1493 Pacholi moved to Venice. Here he prepared his book for publication. After a year's rest, Pacioli accepted the department of the University of Milan where he began to teach mathematics. Here he meets Leonardo da Vinci and becomes his friend. In 1499 they moved to Florence. There Pacioli taught two years of mathematics. After that, he goes to Bologna. In this city almost half of the local budget was directed to the maintenance of the university. Adopting mathematics for such a profitable and prestigious position speaks of his recognition.
A few years later in Venice, part of thea book written by Luca Pacioli, "A Treatise on Accounts and Records." The date of publication of this work is 1504. By 1505, the mathematician had practically retired from teaching and moved to Florence. But in 1508 he again went to Venice. There he gave public lectures. However, his main occupation was at that time the preparation for the publication of his translation of Euclid. In 1509 another book was published, which was written by Luca Pacioli, "On the Divine Proportion." In 1510 the mathematician returned to his native city and became a priory in the local monastery. However, his life was burdened by numerous intrigues of envious persons. This was the reason that four years later he again went to Rome. There he taught at the Mathematical Academy. In his hometown Luca Pacioli returned already shortly before his death - in 1517.
The contribution of mathematics to the development of methodology
To fully understand the meaning thathas a book written by Luca Pacioli ("A Treatise on Accounts and Records"), it is necessary to evaluate the principles he has put into the system. Almost all experts say that the criteria proposed by the mathematician existed before him. For example, it can not be assumed that Luka Pacioli is the author of a double entry. It existed before him. In this case, the question arises: what is the contribution of mathematics in this case? In contrast to his contemporaries, Pacioli believed that all the most important was already invented earlier. The main task of scientists he saw in the most effective construction of the training course. Pacioli did not imagine scientific creativity beyond the pedagogical process. Therefore, teaching has become an integral part of his life.
Representations that had Luca Pacioli,completely determined his scientific approach to both solving mathematical problems and related disciplines. This position was defined quite accurately later by Galileo. Luke Pacioli's knowledge of mathematics was closely connected with the study of the harmony of the world. At the same time, the correctness of geometric figures, as well as the convergence of the balance, became for him manifestations of this harmony. The scientist did not simply record those practices that existed earlier, but gave them a scientific description. This is the main significance of the activities carried out by Luca Pacioli. "Treatise on accounts and records", thus, became the foundation for improving the balance sheet.
The essence of the scientific approach
Reflection of facts at the time of their existenceis the most accurate. But along with this, this method does not contribute to the further development of practices, since the method of cognition is focused on the past, the exact reproduction of what has already occurred and is taking place. The approach used by Luka Pacioli provided an opportunity to assess the situation not only on the segment of its development, but also in the future, and also on the part of system and integrity. In his work, the mathematician did not take much into account, made a number of mistakes, described a more outdated Venetian system, and not a progressive Florentine one. Nevertheless, the "Treatise" of Luka Pacioli showed that in the preparation of financial statements, a scientific approach can be applied. He was able to turn the formation of balance in one of the areas of exact sciences. This, in turn, served to the fact that many people (Leibniz, Cardano and others) became interested in accounting theory.
Implementation of the mathematical system
In his "Treatise" Pacioli supplemented the existingmethods of representations of combinatorics. In the preparation of the balance at that time fractions were used because of the simultaneous use of several currencies. But during the operations they were simply rounded. However, the main contribution of the mathematician to the methodology is considered to be his introduction of the idea of the integrity of the accounting system and that convergence of the balance acts as a sign of its harmony. The latter definition was considered at that time not only as an aesthetic, but also an engineering category. Evaluation of the trade balance from this position made it possible to present the enterprise in the form of an integrated system. The method that Luka Pacioli perfected - a double entry - in his opinion, should have been applied not only for a certain trading enterprise, but for any organization and for the entire economy as a whole. This allows us to conclude that the approach that the mathematician was implementing predetermined not only the development of financial reporting, he became the foundation for the formation and subsequent implementation of economic thought.
Luca Pacioli: "A Treatise on Accounts and Records" (summary)
First of all it should be said that the financialThe balance of the mathematician is presented in the form of a strictly ordered sequence of operations. The most complete reflection of "procedural" is seen in the principle of maintaining three books of accounting. The first - "Memorial" - reflects the chronological sequence of all cases. The sixth chapter of the "Treatise" describes the procedure for its conduct. Over time, the Memorial was replaced by primary documents. As a result, there was an inconsistency between the dates of discharge, the commission of the operation and the registration of the fact.
The next book is "The Journal".It was intended solely for internal use. It recorded all the operations that were described in the "Memorial", but they took into account their economic meaning (loss, profit, and so on). It was intended for posting and was also compiled in chronological order. The third book was "Home". About it is told in chapter 14 of the "Treatise". In her operations were recorded in a systematic, rather than a chronological order.
Clarity
This is the following principle, which was described by Pacioli.Clarity meant providing users with understandable and complete information about the economic activity of the enterprise. All entries in books, in accordance with this principle, should be drawn up in such a way that conceptual reconstruction is envisaged in them. In other words, the operations must be fixed so that it is possible later to restore the participants in the act, the objects, the time and place of the fact. To achieve the greatest clarity, you need to know the language of accounting. The mathematician used the Venetian dialect when writing the book, everywhere used mathematical concepts. It was Pacioli who formed the preconditions for the creation of the accounting language, which was the most understandable for most Italian financiers.
Separate property of the owner and enterprise
This principle was for that time quitenatural. The fact is that many merchants then acted as the sole owners of the enterprise, managers and recipients of losses and profits from trading activities. In accordance with this, the accounting is carried out in the interests of the owner of the company. However, in 1840, Hippolytus Wannier formulated another approach. In accordance with it, accounting is conducted not in the interests of the owner, but of the firm. This approach reflected the spread of the share capital in the broad masses.
Credit and debit
One of the most important principles of Pacioli wasdouble entry. The mathematician held the position that every business transaction should be reflected in both debit and credit. This approach has the following objectives:
- Control over the correctness of recording the facts of economic activity.
- Establishment of the owner's equity without inventory.
- Definition of financial result.
Pacioli paid much attention to his workfirst task. In this case, the second and third remained undeveloped. This leads to the formation of a method that distorts the correctness of turnover. The fact is that Pacioli was primarily a scientist, and then a financier, therefore he considered a double entry system within the bounds of cause and effect. In the debit, presumably, the mathematician saw the cause, and in the credit - the consequence. This way of considering the financial system was primarily used in the economy. The most capacious formulation of this principle was given by Yezersky: there can be no income without expense. As the main aspects of the dual recording, Pacioli took the following:
- The amount of debit turnover will always be the same as the amount of credit.
- The value of the debit balance will always be the same as the value of the credit balance.
These principles subsequently became widespread in accounting systems.
Subject of reporting
В качестве него у Пачоли выступало исполнение contract of sale. The reduction of all agreements to a document of this kind was quite typical for that time. Undoubtedly, today's variety of forms of economic life can not fit into the concept of buying and selling (for example, netting, barter, debt restructuring and so on). However, in the time of Pacholi this idea was very progressive. In addition, such an approach allowed to form an adequate for that period definition of the value of both not only a fair price, but also a consequence of the cost and market situation.
Principle of adequacy
Its essence is that all costs that arebears the enterprise, correlate with the passage of time with the incomes received by it. The principle of adequacy Pacioli provides rather than introduces directly and explicitly. As income, only received money is considered. At that time, the notion of profitability and depreciation had just begun to form. In a complex, all this contributed to the creation of ideas about both monetary and other forms of profit. In accordance with a new understanding of income, it can be said that it is formed not only as a result of economic operations, but also as a result of applying accounting methodology.
Balance Management
Пачоли считал бухгалтерский учет чем-то in this connection, the value of the results of reporting appeared as a relative term. The results recorded in a particular book depend largely on the method of reporting. This provision is consistent with the idea of the most accurate recording of economic transactions in the balance sheet, since all methods presuppose a fairly accurate reflection of facts, while conclusions can often be directly opposite. Pacholi understood this perfectly. In this regard, as the main result of financial reporting, he saw his impact on decision-making in the field of economic management.
Honesty
This is the last principle that proclaimedPacioli in his "Treatise". The person who is engaged in balancing the balance must be absolutely honest. This should be manifested not only in relation directly to the employer itself. The accountant should be mostly honest with God. In this regard, the reliance on him almost in every chapter for a mathematician is neither a tribute to tradition, nor the fulfillment of a monastic duty, but the main life principle. Conscious distortion of accounting information Pacioli considered not only a financial violation. For a mathematician, this was primarily a disorder of divine harmony, which he sought to comprehend through calculations.
Disadvantages of work
It should be said that Pacioli's work wasfirst of all as a theoretical book. In this regard, it does not reflect the many elements of financial reporting that existed at that time. Among them, in particular, are:
- Maintenance of additional and parallel books.
- Accounting for industrial costs.
- Balance keeping with analytical purpose.At that time, reporting was already being carried out not only for reconciling information and closing books, but also acted as a management and control tool.
- Account management nostro and loro.
- Fundamentals of audit and balance checkout procedure.
- Methods of calculation relating to the distribution of profits.
- The procedure for the reservation of funds and the distribution of totals for adjacent periods.
- Confirmation of reporting information inventory methods.
The absence of these components indicates firstturn on the insufficient commercial experience of Pacioli. It is likely that he did not include these details due to the fact that they simply did not fit into the whole system created by him.
Finally
The work of Pacioli was one of the first in whichItalian is used as a means of expressing a scientific idea. The principles and categories formed by the mathematician are currently used. The main merit of Pacioli is not that he fixed them, because it would have been done. His contribution is that it was thanks to his book that accounting was raised to the status of science.
