Accounting Timeline

  • 6000 BCE

    Early beginnings of accounting

    Early beginnings of accounting
    The history of accounting dates back to the Middle Ages about 6000 years before Christ where there were already necessary elements to consider the existence of accounting activities such as numbers and writing as well as the concept of property and the acceptance of a generalized unit of value, the most remote accounting testimony that is known is a clay tablet from Mesopotamia where they had developed a civilization where accounting was of great importance.
  • 5400 BCE

    Early Babylonian vestiges

    Early Babylonian vestiges
    Between 5400 and 3200 B.C., the first traces of a banking organization originated in the Red Temple of Babylon where offerings and deposits were received and presented with interest.
  • 5000 BCE

    The first accounting laws appear

    The first accounting laws appear
    By the year 5000 B.C., there were laws that required merchants to keep certain books in order to record their transactions.
  • 3623 BCE

    Egyptian ledger

    Egyptian ledger
    Around 3623 B.C., in Egypt, the pharaohs had scribes who, by order of their superiors, recorded the income and expenses of the sovereign in orderly order.
  • 2100 BCE

    Appearance of the Hammurabi code

    Appearance of the Hammurabi code
    In the year 2100 B.C., Hammurabi, who reigned in Babylon, made the famous codification that bears his name and in which the accounting practice is mentioned.
  • 1700 BCE

    The Code of Hammurabi is promulgated.

    The Code of Hammurabi is promulgated.
    The famous code of Hammurabi was promulgated in approximately 1700 BC bringing criminal laws, civil and commercial regulations.
  • 594 BCE

    Salomón legislation

    Salomón legislation
    In the year 594 B.C., the legislation of Solomon, legally established that the council should appoint by lot among its members, ten legists, to build the "Court of Auditors", destined to entrust to officials, various administrative services that had to render annual accounts.
  • 356 BCE

    Empire of Alexander the Great

    Empire of Alexander the Great
    Between 356 and 323 B.C., the heyday of Alexander the Great's empire, the market for goods grew to such an extent that it covered the Baltic Peninsula, Egypt and a large part of Asia Minor (India), giving rise to the exercise of adequate control over transactions by means of annotations.
  • 85 BCE

    Roman ledgers

    Roman ledgers
    In Rome, persons engaged in the accounting activity left written testimony on tablets of ivory or other oblong-shaped animal bone with inscriptions showing the name of some slave or freedman, his master or employer and the date, as well as the notation of "Spectavit", i.e.. "Reviewed by". As a reliable testimony, from the year 85 B.C., the Romans kept an accounting consisting of two books, the "Adversaria" and the "Codex".
  • 501

    Solidus appears in Constantinople

    Solidus appears in Constantinople
    Between the VI and IX centuries in Constantinople, the gold "Solidus" was issued with a weight of 4.5 grams, which became the most accepted currency in all international transactions, allowing through this homogeneous measure the accounting registration. For this reason, it is not unusual for Italian cities to reach a high level of knowledge and maximum development of accounting.
  • Dec 24, 1157

    First dividends are paid at Genoveva

    First dividends are paid at Genoveva
    In 1157, Ansaldus Boilardus, a Genoese notary, distributed profits from a commercial partnership, distribution based on the balance of the income and expenditure account divided in proportion to its investments.
  • Dec 24, 1211

    Origin of the Florentine School

    Origin of the Florentine School
    They are preserved since 1211 in Florence, accounts kept by an anonymous Florentine merchant with different characteristics to keep the books, a peculiar method that gave origin to the Florentine School, where the debit and credit go up side by side in different paragraphs each one.
  • Dec 24, 1340

    An accounting scroll is written

    An accounting scroll is written
    From the year 1327, we have news of the first auditor "Maestri Racionali", whose mission was to monitor and collate the work of the "Sasseri" and keep a duplicate of these books, one of these is called "Cartulari" (Ledger) written on parchment dating from 1340 and is preserved in the State Archives of Genoa.
  • Dec 24, 1366

    A new accounting breakthrough

    A new accounting breakthrough
    A new accounting advance appears between the years 1366 and 1400, where the books of Francesco Datini show the image of double-entry bookkeeping that involves, for the first time, proper patrimonial accounts, such antecedents being preserved in France.
  • Dec 24, 1445

    The father of accounting is born

    The father of accounting is born
    Without a doubt, the greatest author of his time was Friar Lucas de Paciolo, born in the village of San Sepulcro Toscaza in 1445, entered the monastery of St. Francis of Assisi at a young age, specialized in theology and mathematics, was a tireless traveler teaching his specialties in various universities in Rome, it is said that he lived in Milan with Leonardo de Vinci and due to the French invasion they moved to Florence, where he was secretary to the cardinal of the diocese.
  • Dec 24, 1458

    The first pioneer in double-entry studies is born

    The first pioneer in double-entry studies is born
    Benedetto Cotrugli Rangeo, born in Dalmatia, author of "Della mercatura et del mercante perfetto", a work he finished writing on August 25, 1458, is considered a pioneer in the study of double entry.
  • Jun 1, 1494

    Pacciolo is credited with the paternity

    In 1494, the paternity of accounting was attributed to an Italian monk named Friar Lucas Bartolomeo Pacciolo, who formalized a very primitive scheme to record the few mercantile operations carried out by the congregation of which he was a member.
  • Dec 24, 1494

    A book called SUMMA is published

    A book called SUMMA is published
    In 1494 a treatise by Fray Lucas de Paciolo entitled "Summa de aritmética, geometría, proportioni et proportionalita" was published, divided into two parts, the first in arithmetic and algebra and the second in geometry, the latter subdivided into eight sections, the last of these being the "Distincio nona tractus XI" entitled "Trattato de computi e delle scritture" which includes 36 chapters, considered that accounting in its application requires mathematical knowledge.
  • Oct 24, 1509

    A new SUMMA printing is made

    A new SUMMA printing is made
    In 1509 he made a new reprint of his treatise, but only the "Tractus XI" where he not only refers to the double entry registration system based on the axiom: "There is no debtor without a creditor", but also to the commercial practices concerning partnerships, sales, interests, bills of exchange, etc.
  • Dec 24, 1573

    The work Della mercatura et del mercante perfetto is published.

    The work Della mercatura et del mercante perfetto is published.
    Della mercatura et del mercante perfetto was published in 1573, a copy is preserved in the Library of Marciana - Venice. In this book, the chapter on accounting explicitly establishes the identity of the double entry, as well as the use of three books: "Notebook" (General Ledger), "Giornale" (Diary) and "Memoriale" (Draft), including a copy book of letters and the imperative need to teach accounting.
  • The emergence of trading centers, independent professionals

    The emergence of trading centers, independent professionals
    Mercantilist expansionism was responsible for exporting double-entry bookkeeping to the new continent. However, in pre-Columbian America, accounting was a common activity among the settlers. It is from the 17th century onwards that the mercantile centers, independent professionals, emerged, with functions oriented primarily to monitor and review the veracity of accounting information.
  • Accounting education begins with the teaching of accounting

    Accounting education begins with the teaching of accounting
    At the University of Pennsylvania in 1801, the teaching of accounting began, and from that time on, the other universities also included it.
  • Accounting in the 19th century

    Accounting in the 19th century
    From the 19th century onwards, accounting underwent transcendental modifications due to the birth of speculations on the nature of accounts, thus creating schools, among which we can mention the personalist, value, abstract, juridical and positivist schools. In addition, the study of accounting principles began, tending to solve problems related to prices and the unit of measurement of value, etc.
  • First trade school founded in Honduras

    First trade school founded in Honduras
    By means of the agreement of February 22, 1877, the first school of commerce was founded under the name of Escuela de Contabilidad de Honduras.
  • First accounting curriculum created in honduras

    First accounting curriculum created in honduras
    In 1901, a 2-year curriculum was established after elementary school, which lasted until 1924, granting the title of bookkeeper.
  • The American Institute of Accountants is founded

    The American Institute of Accountants is founded
    In 1911, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants was founded, dedicated to the study of accounting research.
  • Accounting curriculum reformed in Honduras

    Accounting curriculum reformed in Honduras
    In 1925 the curriculum was reformed to 4 years and then extended to 5 years, granting the title of commercial expert, to which was added the title of public accountant.
  • Ministry of Education establishes new study plan in Honduras

    Ministry of Education establishes new study plan in Honduras
    In 1957 the Ministry of Public Education established a curriculum, within the so-called Diversified Cycle for 3-year commercial studies, establishing as a requirement the Common Cycle of General Culture.