History of Accounting

By lcharris
  • 2500 BCE

    Accounting Records

    Accounting Records
    In ancient civilizations, rulers kept accounting records for taxing and spending on public works.
  • 1000 BCE

    Alphabet

    Alphabet
    The Phoenicians created an alphabet with accounting so that they were not cheated through trades with ancient Egyptians.
  • 500 BCE

    Abacus

    Abacus
    The Egyptians invented the first bead and wire abacus.
  • 423 BCE

    Auditing

    Auditing
    The auditing profession was created to double check storehouses as to what came in and out the door.
  • Period: 1200 to 1493

    Business Accounting Records

    The first requirement for businesses to keep accounting records spread across many of the Italian Republics in the 13th century.
  • Period: 1500 to

    Double Entry Records

    As the time progressed, double entry records had large and small innovations added. This means that for every business transaction, the amounts entered as debits must be equal to the amounts entered as credits.

  • Income Tax

    Income Tax
    The first income tax law in the U.S. was passed during the Civil War.

  • AICPA

    AICPA
    The American Institute of CPA's was founded to create and grade the Certified Public Accountant examinations.
  • Period: to

    Fraud and Scandals

    During this time period, accounting really became important to reduce the amount of fraud and scandals that were performed in businesses around the country.
  • Period: to

    Accounting Standards

    AICPA and FASB have been working together with the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to develop accounting standards for business.