Before delving deep into the mechanics of debits and credits, we first need to understand where the practice and custom of recording financial information began in the very first place.
The language of accounting emerged many, many years ago when societies used the barter system to trade with one another and some sort of record needed to be kept of the trade of goods and services. The earliest evidence of financial record-keeping dates back to around 8000 BC when the ancient Babylonian and Mesopotamian empires used to write their details on clay tablets. This soon evolved to using pen and paper around 3200 BC.
As currencies came into existence, bookkeeping evolved and became a bit more complicated and tedious. That was when merchants started to hire people to work for them as bookkeepers. In 1496, an Italian man called Luca Pacioli, invented the double-entry accounting system that we still use today. Luca is fondly referred to as “The Father of Accounting”.
Since 1496 to the present day, the only significant change in the way we do accounting relates to the usage of computer technology. Computer software has made it super easy for businesses to handle large volumes of data at quick speeds. Nowadays, you can use a phone to take a photo of your receipt and the program will record the data immediately in your general ledger. It is amazing how technology has revolutionized the accounting process. Back in 8000 BC, people were using clay tablets, but in 2025, people use apple computer tablets !
