A date in 1494 marked the beginning of the observance that is now dedicated to accountants around the world. On November 10, Luca Pacioli’s work was published in Venice, in which the double-entry bookkeeping method was described in print for the first time.
Pacioli was a Franciscan friar, mathematician and teacher. Because of his role in systematizing accounting practices, he went down in history as the “father of accounting.”
The Book That Organized the Numbers
His work, “Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalita,” was not devoted solely to accounting. It covered arithmetic, algebra, geometry and calculations used in trade. A separate section described the Venetian method of double-entry bookkeeping—a system in which every business transaction is recorded simultaneously as a debit and a credit in the accounts.
Pacioli did not present the method as his own invention. He described a practice that was already being used by merchants in Venice and other Italian cities. The significance of the book is that it turned this practice into organized and accessible knowledge that could be studied and applied by a wider range of people.
The Spanish newspaper “El País” describes the account included in the book as the first clear presentation of double-entry bookkeeping in a printed publication.
The Beginnings of Accounting in Bulgaria
In Bulgaria, accounting began to develop during the 19th century. The first Bulgarian accounting book was published in 1850 in Constantinople. Its authors were the brothers Hristo and Stoyan Karaminkov.
In 1884, accounting began to be taught officially at the Commercial School in Svishtov. It was then that the first professional accountants appeared in Bulgaria, while specialized accounting services gradually became part of economic life.
The Profession Behind Financial Statements
Today, accountants’ work extends beyond processing numbers. They take part in preparing financial statements, monitor the movement of funds and support the decisions of companies, organizations and institutions.
“Accountants do much more than simply calculate numbers—they help businesses grow and help people navigate the complexity of finance,” say Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand.It is precisely the connection between the accuracy of an individual entry and decisions with consequences for entire enterprises that makes accounting a profession with a long history and direct significance for the modern economy. On November 10, this history begins anew with the name of Luca Pacioli and a book printed in Venice more than five centuries ago.
Sources: elpais.com