[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 146 (Saturday, October 8, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 8, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
               LUCA PACIOLI: THE ``FATHER OF ACCOUNTING''

                                 ______


                        HON. COLLIN C. PETERSON

                              of minnesota

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 7, 1994

  Mr. PETERSON of Minnesota. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
Italian Renaissance scholar and mathematician who, in 1494, published a 
work that earned him the title ``Father of Accounting.''
  Luca Pacioli explained in Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, 
Proportioni et Proportionalita how the merchants of Venice kept their 
books and he counseled other business owners to adopt this system of 
debits, credits, and balances. The system the Franciscan monk described 
is known today as double-entry bookkeeping and is practiced worldwide 
as a fundamental accounting principle.
  In order to provide some perspective about Pacioli's contribution and 
the time in which he lived, I have excerpted the following from a 
playful, mock interview of Pacioli reported by two professors of 
accounting at the Albers School of Business and Economics at Seattle 
University. The professors, William L. Weis and David E. Tinius, are 
CPA's and the cofounders of the Pacioli Society, an educational 
foundation. The article appeared in the November 1991 issue of the 
Journal of Accountancy.

       Q. Fra Pacioli, did you have inkling in life that posterity 
     would award you the title, the Father of Accounting?
       P. On the contrary. My field was mathematics and all my 
     manuscripts * * * were attempts to apply mathematical 
     principles to the vital functions of Renaissance society. In 
     1494 I published the bookkeeping model that was used by 
     Venetian merchants because it hadn't yet been written down in 
     a complete, coherent format.
       Q. Just what did the bookkeeping model have to do with 
     mathematics?
       P. A lot. You see, the Venetian method--you call it double-
     entry--was an application of Arabic algebra. You must 
     remember Arabic numerals were introduced to Europe only in 
     the 13th century * * * So Arabic algebra * * * was a magical 
     new toy * * *.
       Q. A new toy?
       P. For scholars, yes. Imagine working only with Roman 
     numerals! This new system for quantitative manipulation 
     triggered enormous advances in scholarship. A toy as enabling 
     as algebra was truly revolutionary--and we found applications 
     for it everywhere. That's how the Venetian, or double-entry, 
     method evolved.
       Q. What was your role in formulating the accounting model?
       P. Really quite minimal in one sense, but monumental in 
     another.
       Q. Minimal?
       P. I was merely the codifier--the technical writer, so to 
     speak--for a system already in use in Venice. I mastered the 
     system in order to teach it to a Venetian merchant's sons 
     whom I was tutoring * * *.
       Q. Were there no manuals available to describe the system?
       P. None. This must seem incredible to a 20th century reader 
     who can choose from dozens of competing textbooks in 
     accounting, but in the 15th century published documents were 
     rare. The Gutenberg press, on which my Summa was printed in 
     1494, had reached Venice only in 1469.
       Q. So timing was a big factor in your becoming the Father 
     of Accounting?
       P. Timing was everything. I was the first to publish an 
     accounting model that had been evolving, and used, for nearly 
     two centuries.
       Q. Why, then, was your contribution ``monumental'' if it 
     was neither original nor ingenious?
       P. Ah, but it was ingenious! We know that now, with 500 
     years of critical hindsight. And my role was monumental 
     because my treatise established the double-entry model as the 
     universal standard for accounting in the Western world
       Q. A question of being in the right place at the right 
     time?
       P. Exactly. And having the divine fortune of describing a 
     rather ingenious system--one adaptable to virtually every 
     commercial transaction that has emerged over the past 500 
     years.
       Q. That certainly explains why you're the Father of 
     Accounting. Tell us about your * * * philosophy of learning.
       P. [Leon Battista] Alberti believed learning should be 
     relevant and broadly disseminated and that the results of 
     scholarly effort should be communicated clearly to everyone 
     who might benefit.
       Q. For example?
       P. Alberti urged me to write in Italian--the ``vulgar'' 
     tongue virtually everyone used and understood. But Italian 
     was not the accepted language of scholarly discourse. Latin 
     was. Trying to be an accepted member of the academic 
     community while writing scholarly treatises in Italian was a 
     serious career risk * * * Alberti wanted me to write for 
     merchants and artists and stonecutters--not erudite 
     mathematicians * * * The very treatise that made me the 
     Father of Accounting also contained a thorough discussion of 
     mathematical perspective in language comprehensible to 
     artists.
       Q. And?
       P. After Leonardo [da Vinci] read my Summa he arranged for 
     me to come to the Court of Milan to tutor him in mathematical 
     perspective and proportion. I joined Leonardo at the Sforza 
     Court in 1496, beginning a seven-year relationship that 
     produced two enduring masterpieces.
       Q. Name one.
       P. De Divina Proportione--my second major treatise on 
     mathematics. In it I calculated and constructed a system of 
     classical Roman letters as a guide to stonecutters for 
     ornamental lettering on building facades. Yes, I wrote a 
     mathematical treatise for stonecutters--and one they could 
     read and understand * * *.
       Q. So Leonardo collaborated with you on your second major 
     treatise?
       P. Yes. My writing; his drawing. Our De Divina Proportione 
     * * * I should point out that Leonardo was seven years 
     younger than I and not particularly well known as an artist, 
     where the Summa had made me a celebrity. If you're looking 
     for the first published affirmation of Leonardo's genius look 
     in De Divina Proportione * * *.
       Q. That is very impressive. But what does this have to do 
     with * * *
       P. The Santa Maria della Grazie mural Leonardo was working 
     on during our first years together in Milan? The one that 
     became the most famous painting of the 15th century?
       Q. Are you talking about the Last Supper?
       P. None other * * *.
       Q. Fascinating! You've just said the Father of Accounting 
     was tutoring Leonardo da Vinci in mathematical perspective 
     while that famous artist was painting a mural that 
     exemplified artistic perspective * * * Looking at your whole 
     career, what were the watersheds?
       P. Writing the Summa and De Divina Proportione permanently 
     etched my name in the history of mathematics and classical 
     lettering and gave me celebrity billing as a teacher and 
     scholar throughout Renaissance Italy * * * I can take the 
     most pride in the exploits of my protege, friend and 
     coauthor, the great Leonardo da Vinci.
       Q. Aren't you forgetting * * *
       P. Oh, yes, of course. The Father of Accounting issue. It 
     seemed so trivial at the time, but it turned out to be my 
     most influential legacy. It's hard to believe this simple 
     system for recording and summarizing commercial activity has 
     endured for five centuries! And that posterity has given me 
     such credit for being its codifier!

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