Most people don’t find the math of Accounting as difficult as understanding the concepts of accounting, and for many there is no more difficult concept to grasp than that of Debits and Credits. Now the concept of Debits and Credits is actually more than 500 years old, being used extensively by the Venetian merchants of Italy in the 15th century Renaissance period. The concepts were first documented in Latin in the 1400’s and were later translated into English in the 16th century. Is it any wonder then, with the passage 500 years, that we may have become a little confused about the original meaning and concepts, particularly with the English language adopting new legal and everyday meanings for these age old words. So it may be beneficial then, as we try to understand the concept of Debits and Credits, to go back to where it all begun … but first some background.
This Introduction discusses the types of business organizations, types of business activities, users of financial information, bookkeeping systems, accounting rules, and the cash and accrual basis of accounting.