In 1494, the “Father of Accounting”, Luca Pacioli, published the first ever book on double-entry bookkeeping: Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalita. Luca Pacioli is credited (pun intended) with saying the phrase: “‘a person should not go to sleep at night until the debits equal the credits.”
The double-entry system requires that each financial transaction be recorded in at least two accounts, with equal debits and credits, which helps to ensure the accuracy of the financial records. This innovation laid the foundation for modern accounting practices and is still widely used today.
