International Accounting Day gives recognition to accountants and was started in honour of Fra Luca Bartolomeo de Pacioli, often known simply as Luca Pacioli, an Italian mathematician who is seen as the father of accounting and bookkeeping. Born in the Tuscany region of Italy in 1445, Pacioli published Summa de Arithmetica, Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalita on November 10, 1494 (some sources say it was published between November 10 and November 20), the date that was chosen for International Accounting Day. The importance of accounting expanded in the thirteenth century when Europe moved towards a monetary economy. This was followed shortly thereafter by Luca Pacioli's book. The first professional organisations for accountants were started in Scotland in 1854: the Edinburgh Society of Accountants and the Glasgow Institute of Accountants and Actuaries. The profession continued to grow and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants was started in 1887. Today, accountants who have passed certification exams may have titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certified Accountant, and Certified Public Accountant. Their certifications may entitle them to certain responsibilities such as being able to certify financial statements. Most accountants work in commerce, industry, and the public sector, and the Big Four are the largest employers of accountants. Today we celebrate them and their profession, as well as the father of accounting, Luca Pacioli. I expect this is all very exciting for some people. Me, not so much.
An accountant is having a hard time sleeping and goes to see his doctor. “Doctor, I just can’t get to sleep at night.” “Have you tried counting sheep?” “That’s the problem – I make a mistake and then spend three hours trying to find it.”
So this big company was looking for a firm of accountants to audit their books. They narrowed it down to three firms and asked the chief accountant of each of them to come in for an interview. The first one had all the qualifications but right at the end of the interview, he was asked "What's 2 x 2?" He replied "4". The second one was similarly qualified but on being asked what 2 x 2 was he replied "Well I think it's 4 but I'll just check on my calculator to be sure". However, when the third accountant was asked what's 2 x 2, he took off his glasses and said in a quiet voice "What sort of figure did you have in mind?" He got the job!
