The right accountant can provide much more than just filing your year-end accounts. Cheltenham accountants understand that your finances are important to your business. The relationship between the business owner and their accountant is one of great importance. Visit a site like www.randall-payne.co.uk/ when you need assistance for your business.
You may be surprised to learn some interesting facts about accountants and the world of accounting:
- Bookkeeping and bookkeeper are the only two words in English that contain three consecutive double-letters.
- Many famous people began their careers in accounting. Mick Jagger of Rolling Stones fame, the comedian Eddie Izzard, and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin are all examples of those who started their careers in accounting and not entertainment.
- St Matthew the Evangelist is the patron saint of accountants.
- The earliest forms of accounting can be traced thousands and thousands years back. Archaeologists have found tokens dating back to ancient Mesopotamia, around 7000-years ago. They believe these tokens would have been used as an early way of trading goods in the marketplaces.
- Walter Diemar, an accountant by profession, was also a brilliant inventor. He invented bubble gum back in 1928. The bubblegum was initially a bright pink colour because it was the only colour he had at the time. Now, you would never link accounting and bubblegum together!
- Al Capone was a Chicago crime boss, who was accused of many crimes including murder. However, it was an accountancy firm that dealt with his business who exposed some of his illegal behaviour when he was arrested and was successfully convicted for tax evasion. Even the biggest criminals can be brought down by accounting! The FBI, in fact, hires a whopping 2000 accountants.
- In America, accountants aren’t only concerned with money. Each year, a team of accountants spends hours and hours counting Oscar Academy Award ballots. Each ballot is counted by hand.
- The words that we use to describe accounting are derived from French and Latin. The word accounting is derived from the French word “compter”, which means “to count”. Debit and credit are Latin words that mean “he owes”, “he trusts”, and “he believes”.
- Luca Pacioli, an Italian mathematician, is credited with the invention of modern accounting and the double entry book in 1494. All modern accounting software and accounting methods are based on this method.
