Pocket Accountant [antikvár]

Preface Accounting is a very ancient art, which played a key role in the development of writing and numbers. As commerce and government have become more complicated, accounting has kept pace alongside, oiling the wheels of economic progress. The first book with a substantial treatise on double entry was published in 1494 in Venice. One of Goethe's characters called double entry "one of the fairest inventions of the human mind": it usually appeals to those familiar with it who like algebra. Times crosswords or Bach cello suites! Thus accounting is no confused parvenu like economics, nor ramshackle "ass" like the law. However, neither is it a science: there remains much judgment in accounting and, consequently, much controversy. This book is intended to be a guide to the jargon, the concepts and the uncertainties of accounting. Its basic context is the UK, but there are very frequent references and headings concerning the USA. In the case of many entries, knowledge of other entries is relevant; this is denoted by small capitals which indicate a cross-reference. For beginners, initial reference to some fundamental entries listed on the following page may be useful. There is also a list of abbreviations at the end of the book. The world of accounting is changing very fast, and the currency of this book will be affected by changes after mid-1984. My thanks are due to my colleagues Bob Parker and Bill Mclnnes for hundreds of helpful comments; to Susanne Robertson for the use of great word processing skill; to the Editor of Accountancy for permission to reprint the cartoons in the text; and to Sue Corbett and her colleagues at Basil Blackwell and The Economist for much help along the way. Christopher Nobes Glasgow, October 1984