International Accounting Day
What’s so exciting about International Accounting Day? On November 10, 1494, Italian mathematician and Franciscan friar Luca Bartolomeo de Pacioli published “Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalita” (Everything About Arithmetic, Geometry and Proportion).
It included a detailed description of double-entry bookkeeping, called the Method of Venice. Although this technique had been practiced for centuries, Pacioli’s treatise was the first of its kind in print and earned him the title of “Father of Modern Accounting.”
*****
Many in modern times have followed in Pacioli’s footsteps, with varying degrees of success.
Chuck Liddell is a former UFC Light-Heavyweight Champion whose fighting skills have helped make mixed martial arts a mainstream sport. He is also a trained accountant, with a BA in Business and Accounting from California Polytechnic University. No one will be making any “boring bean counter” jokes to him.
Kenny G. is a world-famous saxophonist whose smooth jazz sounds have sold more than 75 million records worldwide. He also graduated magna cum laude from the University of Washington with a degree in accounting, which he credits with helping him manage his finances early on in his career and paving the way for future success.
John Grisham earned a degree in accounting, intending to become a tax attorney. Instead, he decided to pursue a career in criminal law. His first novel, A Time to Kill, was based on evidence he observed at trial. He has written 47 books, 10 of which have been made into movies, and has sold over 300 million copies in print. (Fun fact: Grisham wrote a comedic novel, Skipping Christmas, which was made into the movie Christmas with the Kranks!)
In 1962, Mick Jagger was studying accounting and finance — on scholarship — at the London School of Economics when he formed the Rolling Stones with Keith Richards and Brian Jones. We think you’ll agree that it worked out for the best.
*****
Need more proof that accounting is cool? Click here to apply for a job at the FBI! According to FBI.gov:
The Forensic Accountant (FoA) role is one of the most vital and sought-after careers
in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Forensic accountants use their accounting
skills, auditing, and investigative techniques to research and follow the systems through
which money may be funneled or laundered by terrorists, spies, and criminals involved in
financial wrongdoing.
How many are there, exactly? We could tell you, but then we’d have to kill you. (Not really; we just don’t know.)
Happy International Accounting Day!