One of the earliest tools used by man was the use of accounting; the use of abacus highlights it all. Double entry gained its popularity from the time of the commercial revolution.
However these days accounting is the life and soul of a profitable business and is offered as a major in almost every teaching institution.
Cost accounting came into existence in the early 18th century and you would be surprised to hear that it was invented by a very famous potter! A person called Josiah Wedgewood was a very talented potter and after noticing that his workers were stealing a lot of money and also did not carry out the paperwork which was required, he decided to come up with a method to stop all of this, this later was known as cost accounting.
Early Technology
The role played by accounting technology is vital. This includes the idea of employing machines to answer mathematical problems which dates back to a few centuries. Leonardo da Vinci invented the “Codex Madrid” which held thirteen wheels that recorded digits. Several attempts to build calculators followed, but a Frenchman, Blaise Pascal, was the first one to be successful.
It was 1885 when William Burroughs came up with the first functional adding machine. The product was unsuccessful at first, mainly due to the fact that no one but Burroughs knew how to use it. But after it was reengineered and the automatic inventing machine was created, the sales multiplied.
Calculators came into existence much later after the advent of adding machines. They had countless advantages such as fewer mistakes, enhanced accountability and amplified speed and efficiency.
The Twentieth Century Information Revolution
The invention of computer aided accounting software altered the field of accounting drastically as it had hardly faced any changes from the time of its introduction to the 1970s. All accounting comprised of till the twentieth century was records in columns of numbers on paper.
Vannevar Bush, an MIT professor, manufactured the first electronic differential analyzer in 1930. Howard Aiken and Konrad Zuse invented hybrid binary arithmetic machines which calculated sums by using electric relays. Professor Aiken, with IBM, built the first computer in 1942. Within fifty years, mammoth computers which were merely capable of solving simple calculations revolutionized into small desktop computers most of us use today.
Accounting software in computers enables accountants to work with electronic spreadsheets, eradicating the need for calculators, adding machines and ledgers as well as minimizing mistakes and allows accountants to follow up on information with ease.
New Technology Leads to New Risks
All technological advancements in accounting software certainly have problems. Fraud still poses as a menace but this has led to more areas of research. Forensic accounting, for example, helps track attempts at fraud.
Accounting Technology at Home
Business accounting is not the only thing transformed by the invention of computers. Online banking, tax calculating software and automated bill payment systems have revolutionized how individuals manage their money.
The continuous evolution in accounting technology will assure students career stability in the years to come. If you feel that you are good with numbers, consider taking accounting as a profession.