owners of property. The stewardship accounting is said to be the root of accounting. Records of debit and credit were found in the th century itself. In , Luca Pacioli an Italian developed double-entry book-keeping system.
Due to the industrial revolution in the th and th centuries, large scale operations were carried on and joint stock companies emerged as an important form of organisation which required separation of ownership from management. Hence, to safeguard the interest of owners and investors, the business establishments required detailed information about business which paved the way for development of comprehensive financial accounting information system. In the th century, the need for analysis of financial information for managerial decision making caused emergence of Management Accounting as a separate branch of accounting. Though accounting was individual centric in the initial stage of evolution of accounting, it has gradually developed into Social Responsibility Accounting in the st century, due to the vast growth in business activities as a result of development in various fields.
Thus, accounting has become inevitable in the modern world for business. Accountancy - . Meaning and Definition of Accounting Student activity Think: Before the evolution of money, commodities were exchanged for commodities. In such situations, how would people have maintained their accounts?
Accounting is the systematic process of identifying, measuring, recording, classifying, summarising, interpreting and communicating financial information. Accounting gives information on: (i) the resources available (ii) how the available resources have been employed and (iii) the results achieved by their use. The profit earned or loss incurred during the accounting period, value and nature of assets, liabilities and capital can be ascertained from the information recorded in accounts. According to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants “Accounting is the art of recording, classifying and summarising in a significant manner and in terms of money, transactions and events which are in part, at least of a financial character and interpreting the results thereof”.
American Accounting Association has defined accounting as “the process of identifying, measuring, and communicating economic information to permit