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ACCOUNTING IN PRE-PACIOLI ERA: GENESIS AND IMPACT ON THE DEVELOPMENT
OF ACCOUNTING PROFESSION IN NIGERIA
BY
ABUBAKAR SALISU
Mobile No.: +234-803-3860665
e-mail: [email protected]
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 ChiSquare. 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 credited with the innovation of accounting because virtually no names
survive before the Italian Renaissance (Have, 1976; Giroux, 1999). The role of accounting in the
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ancient pre-Pacioli era is coming into clearer focus with new archaeological discoveries and
innovative interpretations of the artifacts. Although accounting was better appreciated as a discipline
during the Pacioli era and the Renaissance period, its ancient history provided the bases for its
evolvement and the general development of human civilization. It took archaeologists to dig up the
early history and scholars from many fields to demonstrate the importance of accounting to so many
aspects of economics and culture (Previts, Parker and Coffman, 1990b). It is now evident that writing
developed over 5,000 years and archeological findings revealed that writing was in fact developed by
accountants.
The discovery of primitive trade routes that dated 9500BC suggests that global merchandising
predates the birth of civilization. Also, tokens found at the earliest fortified cities, revealed evidences
of the existence of accounting around that time. Accountants participated in the development of
cities, trade, and the concepts of wealth and numbers (Parker, 1977). Accountants invented writing,
participated in the development of money and banking, invented double entry bookkeeping that
fueled the Italian Renaissance, saved many Industrial Revolution inventors and entrepreneurs from
bankruptcy, helped develop the confidence in capital markets necessary for western capitalism, and
are central to the information revolution that is transforming the global economy.
Accounting profession in Nigeria received a formal reckoning in the mid 1960s (Chibuike, 2008).
During that period, Nigerian accountants, mostly trained by professional accounting bodies in the
United Kingdom, came together and formed a professional accounting body that is responsible of
training accountants in Nigeria and fostering the development of the profession in the country.
Presently, however, a number of professional accounting bodies carry out such functions
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concurrently. These bodies pay much attention to the teaching of technical and practical aspects of
accounting thereby attaching little impetus to the historical background of the profession especially
the period prior to the year the first publication of accounting nature was made in 1494AD by Luca
Pacioli. Accounting underwent some transformation and revolutionary stages prior to that
publication, which contributed immensely to the development of the profession. To what extent is
the knowledge of accounting history necessary for the development of the profession? What
relevance does the study of accounting history, especially pre-Pacioli era, have on the development
of the profession in Nigeria? These are the questions that this study intends to find solution to.
The main objective of this study is to find out the perceptions of accounting theoreticians,
accountants in practice and the academia on the history of accounting during the pre-Pacioli era and
how that history could enhance the development of the profession in Nigeria. The study also 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.
Research Hypotheses
The following hypothesis is formulated and addressed in this study:
H0: The pre-Pacioli history of accounting has no significant impact on the development of
accounting profession in Nigeria.
Ha: The pre-Pacioli history of accounting significantly impact on the development of
accounting profession in Nigeria.
Review of Relevant and Related Literature
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The word history connotes inquiry and the knowledge acquired by investigation (Appleby, Hunt and
Jacob, 1995; Lister, 1983). History is the study of the human past and a field of research which uses
a narrative to examine and analyze the sequence of events, and it sometimes attempts to investigate
objectively the patterns of causes and effects that determine events (Burke, 1992). Where events of
the past occurred prior to written record, they are referred to as and considered prehistory. History
provides perspective on the problems of the present so that improvements could be effected to better
the future.
The field of accounting history has been receiving the attention of researchers particularly the
accountants. This is due to the facts and evidences discovered by archeologists the conclusions
drawn from the remains, artifacts and tablets discovered in the process and relating to accounting. It
is interesting to know that conclusion of archeologists in respect of the genesis of accounting is that
accounting is as old as civilization (Goldberg, 1974; Hopwood and Johnson, 1986; Hopwood 1987).
The writing used in documentation and communication was said to be invented by the accountants.
This confirmed the old existence of the discipline and its relevance in driving human civilization.
Pre-Pacioli History of Accounting
In the words of Mattessich (1989), Funnell (1996), and Chibuike (2008), within the last 10,000 years
civilization began with the development of cities and agriculture. According to Mattessich (1989),
Jericho, the oldest city yet discovered, started as a trade center for salt. Although no complete
accounting was evidenced there, the artifacts revealed remains of a temple priest taking inventory of
the village livestock using tokens to keep track of the herd size and count the grain harvest. Another
ancient city in Turkey called Catal Huyuk was also a trade center for obsidian. The citizens used
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available materials plus limited trade goods to make a variety of products, which increased and
improved over time. With pottery, textiles, and agricultural surpluses, humans discovered wealth
(Flesher and Samson, 1990; Butchell et al, 1980; Brown, 1905). Wealth was equated with money and
the ability to exchange goods. Precious metals and various trade goods became the equivalent of
money, but the coinage of silver and gold standardized the concept of money and enhanced trade.
This also means that accounting pre-dates the concept of money.
Thus at about 9500BC, evidence of primitive trade routes, as discovered by archeologists, suggest
that global merchandising predates the birth of civilization (Funnell, 1996). Also, tokens found at the
earliest fortified cities at about 8000BC revealed the evidence of accounting. Scribes became
accountants during these periods and in the process invented the abstract of numbers and writing
(Mattessich, 1998).
From the simple tokens, complex tokens evolved in Sumeria about 3700 BC.
Complex tokens were covered with lines, notches, and other markings and represented a more
sophisticated accounting system (Hopwood, 1987; Have, 1976). According to Pervits and Bricker
(1994), these markings can be explained as abstract representations of both objects of wealth
(possibly finished goods such as processed foods, textiles, or luxury goods such as perfume) and the
development of numbers. Tokens could be impressed on clay tablets and a single tablet could have
marking of several tablets (Lister, 1983; Have, 1976). Tablets could represent summary document of
inventories or transactions and contain additional explanatory markings. With stylized signs all
information could be recorded directly on the tablets, eliminating the need for tokens. From this
beginning, writing developed (invented by scribes serving as accountants). The earliest texts were
pictographs on tablets written with a stylus (Goldberg, 1974). The standardized script was called
Cuneiform (Lation for wedge) because of its shape, invented between 3500-3100 BC, perhaps at
Uruk. Soon, historical events were recorded and a written literature born (Loft, 1988).
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The late Stone Age became over at around 3300BC. Thereafter, Copper tools were used to construct
the great stone temples and palaces (Bisaschi, 2003). City states began to be forming, based on
military might. Crafts were expanding; merchants traded wares on an ever-increasing basis to foreign
lands. The archeologists found that in Sumeria of 3,000 BC, a scribe was uncovered (the penetrating
gaze, the intelligent eyes, the love handles and pot belly) and concluded that this may be the first
accountant (Bisman, 2009). Among the scribes functions were scribbling figures on a wet clay
tablet, developing a better scheme to record the ruler's wealth, the tribute of grain and livestock and
gold, foodstocks entering and leaving the stores, gold delivered to the artisans to craft jewelry.
Five thousand years before the appearance of double entry, the Assyrian, Chaldaean-Babylonian and
Sumerian civilizations were flourishing in the Mesopotamian Valley, producing some of the oldest
known records of commerce (Funnell, 2009; Sombart, 1979; Wells, 1976). In this area between the
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, now mostly within the borders of Iraq, periodic floodings made the
valley an especially rich area for agriculture. During this era (which lasted until 500 B.C.), Sumeria
was a theocracy whose rulers held most land and animals in trust for their gods, giving impetus to
their record-keeping efforts. Moreover, the legal codes that evolved penalized the failure to
memorialize transactions. The renowned Code of Hammurabi, handed down during the first dynasty
of Babylonia (2285 - 2242 B.C.), for example, required that an agent selling goods for a merchant
give the merchant a price quotation under seal or face invalidation of a questioned agreement
(Previts, Parker and Coffman, 1990a). Thus it is believed that most transactions were recorded and
subscribed by the parties during this period.
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Egyptian bookkeepers associated with each storehouse kept meticulous records, which were checked
by an elaborate internal verification system (Previts and Parker, 1994). These early accountants had
good reason to be honest and accurate, because irregularities disclosed by royal audits were
punishable by fine, mutilation or death. Although such records were important, ancient Egyptian
accounting never progressed beyond simple list-making in its thousands of years of existence
(Gaijsbeek, 1914; Lemarchand, 1999). Perhaps more than any other factors, illiteracy and the lack of
coined money appear to have stymied its development.
Double Entry Bookkeeping, Luka Pacioli and the Relevance of Accounting History
According to Peragallo (1938), at about 1200AD Italian merchants use double entry accounting
information, to extend trade throughout much of the known world. Evidence suggests that double
entry bookkeeping developed in the Genoa-Venice-Florence area in the 1200-1350 period, part of a
vast commercial revolution. Accounting records of Rinierie Fini and Brothers (from 1296-1305) and
Farolfi and Company (1299-1300) indicate complete double entry accounting (Keister, 1963;
Lemarchand, 1994). Each accounting entry had a separate debit and credit, with the equivalent of
journals and ledgers.
Luca Pacioli (1447-1517), Franciscan monk and mathematician, published Summa de Arithmetica,
Geometrica, Proportioni et Proportionalite in 1494. It was a summary of existing mathematical
knowledge of the time and contained a section on "Details of Accounting and Recording" that
described bookkeeping as used in Venice. Pacioli's Summa was the first complete description of
double entry bookkeeping (Gaijsbeek, 1914). A memorandum book, journal, and ledger were
required, with the journal and ledger similar to modern equivalents. A trial balance was used when
the books were closed. The profit or loss was entered into the capital account to balance the balance
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sheet (Lemarchand, 1999; Paragallo, 1938). Luca Pacioli was the first writer of the Italian
bookkeeping methods. Aided by the printing press, Pacioli's Summa spreads the "Venetian system"
across Europe (Paragallo, 1938).
On the other hand, some accounting history researchers opined that accounting history has no much
relevance to the study and development of accounting. In examining evidence of accounting
transactions from Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, Stevelinck (1985) dismisses the relevance of
such ancient accounting practices to contemporary accounting historians. Stevelinck raises two
concerns; first, that “these accounts appear far too distant from us. They may be admissible but what
can we learn from them that will be of use to us professionally?” He added that attempt should be
made to discourage students from learning techniques that are out of date. The second concern, as
posited by Stevelinck (1985), is “accounting has been kept since time immemorial, but double-entry
bookkeeping goes back less than 1,000 years. According to him,
“it is this system of double-entry bookkeeping that really interests us, because it is still in
use, and because it would be instructive to examine its origins, to follow its evolution step
by step, to identify progress, the path it took, the tentative innovations of our predecessors,
the soultions they arrived at.”
Salvador, Mahmoud and Gutiérrez (2004) buttress the arguments of Stevelinck (1985) by stating that
the concerns underpin traditional accounting history research and demonstrate most clearly its
emphasis on origins, evolution, progress, and the privileging of double-entry, over all other
admissible forms, as the only interesting form of accounting practice. Miller and Hopper (1991) and
Napier (1989) have established the relevancy link of ancient accounting history to the study of new
dimensions in accounting and its development.
Methodology
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This study employed historical and survey research methods, which was conducted in a two-stage
process. The initial stage was the conduct of interviews with twenty (20) experienced accountants in
practice and in the academics in Kaduna state. The essence of the interview was to obtain the
interviewees’ knowledge and perceptions of pre-Pacioli accounting history and its significance
towards the development of the profession. The final stage was the administration of questionnaires.
The questionnaire contains a combination of ten open and closed-ended questions within the premise
of accounting history especially the pre-Pacioli era. The questionnaires were distributed to
systematically selected accounting theoreticians, accountants in practice and other academic
accountants.
The population of this study is the total number of accounting theoreticians, accountants in practice
and other academic accountants in Kaduna state. They comprise of full time accounting lecturers in
seven identified tertiary institutions in Kaduna state that run accounting program, students studying
accounting in those tertiary institutions at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and practicing
audit firms staff in Kaduna state. Their number was estimated, as at June 2010, at five thousand, six
hundred & sixty six (5,666).
The sample size of the respondents for questionnaire distribution is computed using the Yemane
(1967) formula as follows:
n
Where:
=
N
1 + N (e) ²
N
=
Study population
e
=
Marginal error
n
=
Sample size
Page 10 of 18
Now, computing the sample size at 95% confidence level (i.e. e = 0.05), we have:
n
=
5,666
1 + 5,666 (0.05) ²
=
5,666
1 + 14.165
=
5,666
15.165
=
373.62
Therefore, 374 questionnaires were administered.
Results and Discussions
The number of the questionnaires completed and returned by our respondents totaled 368, which
represents about 98% of the total number of questionnaires administered. The questions and
responses on them are presented in the table below:
Contingency Table of the Responses of our Respondents
Strongly
Agree
Questions
(5)
Q1. The ancient accounting drives 66
human civilization.
Q2. Invention of writing was a 59
product of accounting.
Q3. Accounting exists for thousands 134
of years prior to Pacioli era.
Q4. Accounting history provided 83
impetus to the development of double
entry system of book-keeping.
Q5. Adequate comprehension of 37
accounting would be enhanced when
the pre-Pacioli history of the
Agree
Responses
Undecided Disagree
(4)
89
(3)
48
77
Total
(2)
119
Strongly
Disagree
(1)
46
368
88
93
51
368
147
04
49
34
368
65
56
94
70
368
42
66
133
90
368
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profession is known.
Q6. The development of accounting 99
111
03
profession is inseparable from the
knowledge of past accounting history.
Q7. Knowledge of Pre-Pacioli history 50
101
59
of accounting could impact positively
on the development of accounting
profession in Nigeria.
Total
528
632
324
Source: Questionnaire Administered & Personal Computations
91
64
368
75
83
368
654
438
2576
After testing the hypothesis using Chi-Square (χ2), the value obtained for the calculated value of χ2 is
381.51 (see appendix), while the critical value at 5% significance level and a degree of freedom of
24 gives the value of χ2 as 36.42. Also, the p-value showed a value which is less than 0.0001 (see
appendix). Since the p-value is less than the significant level (0.05), it means there is a significant
relationship between pre-Pacioli history and the development of accounting profession in Nigeria.
Therefore, the study rejects the null hypothesis that the pre-Pacioli history of accounting has no
significant impact on the development of accounting profession in Nigeria. This means that the
development of accounting profession in Nigeria is significantly impacted by the pre-Pacioli history
of the profession.
The interviews conducted do not significantly confirm the results obtained in the test of hypothesis.
The interviews conducted with randomly selected twenty accountants in practice and those in the
academics revealed that although the pre-Pacioli history of accounting is important in the study and
understanding of accounting profession, it is not a prerequisite. 14 of the respondents, representing
70%, revealed that pre-Pacioli history of accounting is good for understanding the ancient way of
accounting and how it evolved overtime. But they, however, explained that the modern accounting
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system is quite different from the ancient system and not getting acquainted with the ancient history
of accounting will not reduce the quality of accountants and accounting practice nowadays.
Furthermore, all the interviewees agreed that the Pacioli contribution to accounting must be known
by every prospective and professional accountant. This is because, they added, of the importance of
double entry system of book-keeping and accounting in the mastering of the technicalities and tactics
of accounting, which Luca Pacioli is the notable innovator. The interviews also revealed that
accounting has a long history prior to Luka Pacioli era and the post-Pacioli history of accounting
could improve the comprehension of the basic concepts of the profession. However, only few of our
respondents are abreast of the archeological findings and discoveries on accounting and how they
assisted the development of the discipline and its continued evolvement.
Finally, when asked whether the pre-Pacioli history of accounting has any impact on the
development of the profession in Nigeria, the interviewees agreed that developments are achieved on
any discipline or profession where the past and the present are used simultaneously to improve the
future. This means that they concurred to pre-Pacioli history of accounting having a positive impact
on the development of the profession globally, Nigeria inclusive. They added that even Luca Pacioli
himself relied on something available that time (past records and events surrounding trade &
commerce) to develop the system of double entry book-keeping.
The implication of the findings from this study is that the development of accounting profession will
be relatively sustained and enhanced with the knowledge of accounting history including the pre-
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Pacioli era. This goes in line with the findings and conclusions in Carnegie and Napier (1996),
Merimo and Mayper (1993), Loft (1988) and Garner (1974).
Conclusion and Recommendations
History fine-tunes the development and continuous evolvement of every phenomenon. It provides a
microscopic vision of the past and present of a phenomenon in order to predict and improve the
future. Both accountants in practice and those in the academics need accounting history to fully
understand and comprehend the technicalities and tactics of accounting profession. In Nigeria not
much attention is giving to the study of accounting history especially the pre-Pacioli era. The
findings from this study revealed that the pre-Pacioli history of accounting significantly impact on
the development of accounting profession in Nigeria. Although the study found that the knowledge
of ancient accounting history especially pre-Pacioli era is not a prerequisite for adequate
understanding and comprehension of accounting profession, it still has some level of importance to
the development of the profession in Nigeria and globally. Also, the archeological remains
discovered on accounting and the conclusions drawn on them have assisted the development of the
discipline and its continued evolvement towards nation building across the globe including Nigeria.
Accounting has led the information revolution. Many aspects of 21st century accounting will be
unrecognizable by today’s professional leaders. Understanding the role of financial needs today and
in the future requires an understanding of the past. The role of accounting in the ancient world is
coming into clearer focus with new archaeological discoveries and innovative interpretations of the
artifacts. It is now evident that writing developed over at least five thousand years by accountants.
The roles of trade, money, and credit also have long and complex histories. It is difficult to
Page 14 of 18
overestimate the importance of double entry bookkeeping. It was central to the success of the Italian
merchants, necessary to birth of the Renaissance. The Industrial Revolution depended on inventors
and entrepreneurs, not accountants. It is the survival of their firms that required innovative
accounting and, later, the development of a profession. Big business, particularly the railroads,
required capital markets that depended on accurate and useful information. This was supplied by the
expanding accounting profession.
The study therefore recommends that:
a) Accounting departments in Nigerian higher institutions of learning should include in their
curricula a core course titled “accounting history” or “accounting history and development”,
which will be structured with topics aimed at acquainting accounting students with the
detailed history of accounting, its evolvement overtime, and how that knowledge could foster
inventions and innovations in the area of accounting.
b) Accountants in practice 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.
Page 15 of 18
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Page 18 of 18
APPENDIX
TEST OF HYPOTHESIS
Test
Performed by
n
Compare Groups - Proportions - Chi-square test
TEST OF HYPOTHESIS
QUESTIONS by RESPONSE
MAL.
SALISU
2576
<Variable>
QUESTIONS
Question 1
RESPONSE
Strongly
Agree
Total
66
(75.4)
59
(75.4)
134
(75.4)
83
(75.4)
37
(75.4)
99
(75.4)
50
(75.4)
528
Pearson's X2 statistic
DF
p
381.51
24
<0.0001
Question 2
Question 3
Question 4
Question 5
Question 6
Question 7
Agree
89
(90.3)
77
(90.3)
147
(90.3)
65
(90.3)
42
(90.3)
111
(90.3)
101
(90.3)
632
Undecided
48
(46.3)
88
(46.3)
4
(46.3)
56
(46.3)
66
(46.3)
3
(46.3)
59
(46.3)
324
Disagree
119
(93.4)
93
(93.4)
49
(93.4)
94
(93.4)
133
(93.4)
91
(93.4)
75
(93.4)
654
Strongly
Disagree
46
(62.6)
51
(62.6)
34
(62.6)
70
(62.6)
90
(62.6)
64
(62.6)
83
(62.6)
438
Total
368
368
368
368
368
368
368
2576