Who is Leonardo da Vinci?

Accounting is the systematic process of identifying, measuring, and recording business transactions. The resulting financial information is then classified into appropriate accounts, analysed, summarised into financial statements, and communicated to users to support effective decision-making. In essence, accounting transforms everyday business activities into meaningful financial insights.

The practice of accounting is as old as human civilisation itself. Evidence from ancient scrolls, artefacts, books, and even religious scriptures shows that early societies recognised the importance of tracking resources and obligations. However, during these early periods, accounting practices were largely informal and lacked standardised methods.

A major turning point came in 1494 when an Italian monk, Luca Pacioli who was also a close associate of Leonardo da Vinci documented the accounting system used by merchants in Venice and Florence. In his famous book *Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalita*, Pacioli devoted a chapter to explaining the principles of double-entry bookkeeping, the use of trial balances, and the preparation of balance sheets. Remarkably, these methods remain the foundation of modern accounting today. For this enduring contribution, Pacioli is widely honoured as the “Father of Accounting.”

Hi Mr Google… Who is Leonardo da Vinci?

Leonardo da Vinci was an Italian polymath of the Renaissance, whose areas of interest included invention, painting, sculpting, architecture, science, mathematics, engineering, literature, anatomy, geology, astronomy, botany, writing, history, and cartography. He has been variously called the father of paleontology, ichnology, and architecture, and is widely considered one of the greatest painters of all time (Portrait of Mona Lisa). Sometimes credited with the inventions of the parachute, helicopter and tank.