BY
ABUBAKAR SALISU
Mobile No.: +234-803-3860665 e-mail: smylisu@yahoo.co.uk
Lecturer, Department of Accounting, Institute of Administration, Ahmadu Bello University, P. M. B. 1013, Zaria – Nigeria.
Abstract
This study traces the genesis of accounting in the pre-Pacioli era and evaluates its impact on the development of accounting profession and nation building. The study aims at increasing the knowledge of accounting history so that its origin could be widely understood and appreciated by all and sundry; so that the development of the profession in Nigeria could be fostered. The study employed expository, descriptive and survey research methods in order to obtain the opinions of accounting theorists and practicians relative to the history of accounting and its impact on the development of accounting profession in Nigeria. Data were collected via accounting literatures, archives and the use of questionnaires. The hypothesis formulated for this study is tested using Chi-Square. The findings revealed that accounting has a long history prior to Luka Pacioli era and the post-Pacioli history of accounting could only be appreciated and adequately comprehended when the genesis is known. Also, the archeological remains discovered on accounting have assisted the development of the discipline and its continued evolvement towards nation building in Nigeria. It is recommended, amongst others, that accountants in practice and the academia should attach significant level of importance to the history of accounting, which will allow them know the past of the discipline, understand its present status and assist them in making valuation suggestions and additions to its continued development.
Keywords: Accounting history, Pre-Pacioli era, Luka Pacioli, Accounting literatures, Accounting system, Accounting profession.
Introduction
There are no household names
References: Appleby, J.; Hunt, L. and Jacob, M. (1995). Telling the Truth about History. London: W. W. Norton & Company. Bisaschi, A. (2003). The Accounting System of the Venerable Society of the Living and the Dead of Parma in Medieval Times. Accounting History, Vol. 8, No. 1, 89-111. Bisman, J. E. (2009). The Census as Accounting Artefact: A Research Note with Illustrations from the Early Australian Colonial Period. Accounting History, 14, 293-314. Brown, R., ed. (1905). A History of Accounting and Accountants. Edinburgh: Jack. Burchell, S., Clubb, C., Hopwood, A. G., Hughes, J. and Nahapiet, J. (1980). The Roles of Accounting in Organizations and Society. Accounting, Organizations and Society, Vol. 5, No.1, 5-27. Burke, P. (1992). New Perspectives on Historical Writing. Cambridge: Polity Press. Carnegie, G. D. and Napier, C. J. (1996). Critical and Interpretive Histories: Insights into Accounting´s Present and Future Through its Past. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, Vol. 9, No.3, 7-39. Chibuike, U. U. (2008). Accounting History Research: Some Theoretical Issues. Nigeria: University of Nigeria Virtual Library. Fleischman, R. K., Mills, P. and Tyson, T. N. (1996). A Theoretical Primer for Evaluating and Conducting Historical Research in Accounting. Accounting History, Vol 1, No.1, 55-75. Fleischman, R. K.; Hoskin, K. W. and Macve, R. H. (1995). The Boulton & Watt Case: The Crux of Alternative Approaches to Accounting History? Accounting and Business Research, Vol. 25, No. 99 (Summer), 162-176. Flesher, D. L. and Samson, W. D. (1990). What is Publishable Accounting History Research: An Editorial View. Accounting Historians journal (June), p.14. Funnell, W. (1996). Preserving History in Accounting: Seeking Common Ground Between "New" and "Old" Accounting History. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp.38-64. Garner, O. S. (1974). Reflections on the Uses of Accounting History. Accounting Historian (January), p.1. Geijsbeek, J. B. (1914). Ancient Double-Entry Bookkeeping: Lucas Pacioli’s Treatise. Denver: University of Colorado. Giroux, G. (1999). A Short History of Accounting and Business. London: Wiley. Goldberg, L Have, O. (1976). The History of Accountancy. California: Bay Books. Hopwood, A. G. and Johnson, H.T. (1986). Accounting History 's Claim to Legitimacy. The International Journal of Accounting (Spring), p.37-46. Hopwood, A. G. (1987). The Archaeology of Accounting Systems. Accounting, Organizations and Society, p.207-234. Johnson, H. T. (1975). The Role of Accounting History in the Study of Modern Business Enterprise, The Accounting Review (July), p.444-450. Keister, O. R. (1963). Commercial Record-Keeping in Ancient Mesopotamia. Accounting Review, 38 (April), 371-76. Lemarchand, Y. (1994). Double Entry versus Charge and Discharge Accounting in Eighteenth-Century France. Accounting, Business & Financial History, Vol. 4, No. 1, 119-145. Lemarchand, Y. (1999). Introducing Double-Entry Bookkeeping in Public Finance: a French Experiment at the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century. Accounting, Business and Financial History, Vol. 9, No. 2, 225-254. Lister, R. J. (1983). Accounting as History. International ]ournal of Accounting (Spring) p.49-68. Littleton, A. C. (1981; first published in 1933). Accounting Evolution to 1900. Alabama: The University of Alabama Press. Loft, A. (1988). Understanding Accounting in its Social and Historical Context: The Case of Cost Accounting in Britain 1914-1923. New York: Garland. Mattessich, R. (1989). Accounting and the Input-Output Principle in the Prehistoric and Ancient World. Abacus, Vol. 25, No. 2, 78 -84. Mattessich, R. (1998). Recent Insights into Mesopotamian Accounting of the 3rd Millennium BC– Successor to Token Accounting. The Accounting Historians Journal, Vol. 25, No. 1 (June), 1-27. Merino, B. P. and Mayper, A. G. (1993). Accounting History and Empirical Research. The Accounting Historians Journal, Vol. 20, No. 2, 237-267. Miller, P. and Hopper, T. (1991). The New Accounting History: An Introduction. Accounting, Organizations and Society, p.395-403. Napier, C. J. (1989). Research Directions in Accounting History. British Accounting History, Vol.21, No. 2, 237-254. Parker, R. H. (1977). Research Needs in Accounting History. The Accounting Historians Journal (Fall), p.1-28. Peragallo, E. (1938). Origin and Evolution of Double Entry Bookkeeping: A Study of Italian Practice from the Fourteenth Century. New York: American Institute Publishing Co. Previts, G. J. and Bricker, R. (1994). Fact and Theory in Accounting History: Presentmindness and Capital Market Research. Contemporary Accounting Research, Vol. 10, No.2, 625-641. Previts, G. J., Parker, L. D. and Coffman, E. N., (1990a). Accounting History: Definition and Relevance, Abacus, p.1-16. Previts, G. J., Parker, L. D. and Coffman, E. N. (1990b). An Accounting Historiography: Subject Matter and Methodology, Abacus, p.136-158. Salvador, C., Mahmoud, E., and Gutiérrez, F. (2004). Accounting History Research: Traditional and New Accounting History Perspectives. Spanish Journal of Accounting History, 1, 24-53. Sombart, W. (1979). Sombart on Accounting History. Translated by K. S. Most, Academy of Accounting Historians Working Paper, No. 35. Stevelinck, E. (1985). Accounting in Ancient Times. The Accounting Historians Journal, Vol. 12, No. 1 (Spring), 1-16. Wells, M. C. (1976). A Revolution in Accounting Thought? Accounting Review (July), p.471-482. Yamane, T. (1967). Statistics: An Introductory Analysis. New York: Harper & Row APPENDIX