About Amatino Manucci - The first accountant

The history of accounting can be traced back 10,000 years to when simple stone tokens were used to count wealth. Today accounting history is again being made as developments in accounting practices are driven by advances in technology. But what of accountants and their history - who was the first?

In 1494, Luca Pacioli published Summa de Arithmetica, containing the first complete description of double-entry bookkeeping. It was translated into Dutch, English, French, German and Russian, spread the system of accounting across Europe, and earned Pacioli his fame as the Father of Accounting. However, he was not the first true accountant.

Double-entry bookkeeping was being developed in Italy centuries before, between 1200-1350, as merchants built trading networks across Europe and the Mediterranean which required sophisticated financial records. Accounts prepared by Amatino Manucci, a partner in the Florentine firm of Giovanni Farolfi and Company, are among the few that have been recovered and analysed from this time. His records for the firm's branch in Salon, Provence, date from 1299-1300, and are the earliest known to meet six qualification criteria for double-entry bookkeeping [Lee; 1977]:

1. The concept of the business partnership as an accounting entity.
2. Algebraic opposition - in simplest terms: for every debit there is an equal credit.
3. A single monetary unit.
4. A capital or proprietor's equity account.
5. The concept of profit and loss as a separate component that will increase or decrease equity.
6. The use of an accounting period.

Manucci did not invent double-entry bookkeeping - the system had evolved over the preceding centuries and was effectively complete by the time of his records. However, he is the first known true accountant, as his records are the earliest surviving examples of complete double-entry bookkeeping. As such, Amatino Manucci is our inspiration.

Accounting timeline

8000 BCE	Jericho	First use of "tokens" to accurately count temple wealth.
3100 BCE	Sumer	Invention of cuneiform writing to determine the king's wealth and tribute payments.
0	Rome	Rich Romans kept financial records in memo form and on ledgers. Scribes kept detailed financial records of the Empire.
1299	Amatino Manucci	The Florentine merchant developed the first known financial records that included all major components of double-entry bookkeeping.
1494	Luca Pacioli	Publication of Summa, which included the first full description of the Italian method of double entry bookkeeping used by Manucci.
1772	Josiah Wedgwood	The Industrial Revolution entrepreneur who developed innovative cost accounting records following a severe recession.
1854	William Cooper	The early founder of a Big Six firm, important to the development of the British accounting profession.
1920	Donaldson Brown	The GM CFO who developed the "modern" cost accounting system used by industrial giants to control vast operations.
2009	Validis Amatino	The ground-breaking accounts review solution is launched.

 

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