Accounting History

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Throughout the history of financial accountants there have been numerous intellects contribute and make a profound impact on the system we are accustomed to today. It is difficult to narrow down the contributors to merely three people considering the changes that have occurred to it in the known last five hundred years. When deciding on whom to discuss I decided to narrow down the long list of influences by going with the type and magnitude of their contributions, the time frame they worked as practicing accountants, and the number of contribution made to the accounting society. In applying this method I decided on Simon Stevin from the sixteenth century, William Deloitte from the nineteenth century, and Carmon Blough from the twentieth century. When knowledge is passed about the outstanding figures in the accounting community I hope the magnitude of their impact on our world is made clear.

Simon Stevin was a Flemish born mathematician (1548-1620) whose accreditations extend far beyond mathematics and accounting. He was also an engineer, astrologer, and musician. He has been selected for one the most influential characters to financial accounting because of several reasons. Stevin was one of the first people of his time to develop the concept of numbers when being divided having a continuous source. (Hadden 1994, 150)This was the concept of decimal points. Stevin did not develop the decimal point system; he just recognized that it could be used in everyday activities. Before decimal points were only used in the banking industry. As you know, accounting uses many ratios to create an understanding of an entity’s profitability, liquidity, and position they might not have been around if it wasn’t for his urging. One of the most important ratios to investors is the earning per share which may not have been devised without Stevin’s doing. Simon also became the first person to create interest tables for the public. Banking once again was the only industry...