CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Accounting is the presentation of a systematically developed and accurately recorded financial report about an entity engaged in economic activity to the users of such reports. The experts that provide the reports are known as Accountants. Apart from the provision of reports, the accountants also interpret and analyze reports provided in order to assist those who use the output of the interpretation and analysis for meeting their various needs. When accountants perform the above stated functions, it IS described as practicing accountancy profession. Thus, the entire effort of an accountant is aimed at enhancing decision making m any organization or business environment.
At each stage of development of man accounting records have been developed according to the needs at that time. The records are so developed and used in enumeration and control of assets, as reporting device for stewardship and the collections, as evidence of trade and for the control of production or the management of business. From the earliest time, the process of levying and collection of taxes by government called for proper record keeping and report. Such accounting records prepared by Tax collectors served as a basis to reinforce business need for accounting systems and controls. The development of social life especially the formation of states or sovereign-ties and levying of taxes necessitated in addition to the knowledge of number, a power of holdings, counting’s and recording in this we find the origin of science in accounting. Early civilization shows that the Babylonian business men recorded their sales and money lending some thousand years ago in day tablets. Egyptians used pap yr, to describe the collections before 1000bc.
According to Richards Brown. (yr) the History of Accounting and Accountant Volume 2, he stated that Greek and Romans had well developed record keeping system especially for government purposes. Emperor Augustus was said to have instituted a governmental budget. Inspectors from the central government in Rome were sent out to examine the accounts of provisional governors. The Grecian also have their accounts engraved on stone and exposed in. public specimen, such accounts are among the Elgin marbles in the British Museum. In Great Britain, the earliest systems of accounting of which there is record are those of exchequers of England and Scotland. The oldest, which has been preserved is the English pipe roll of 1130-1131. From the above, there are many existing records of early development of accounting not mentioned, it is an evidence to show that so many accounting activities have taken place in the past. The modern methodology of keeping accounting record began with the introduction of double entry in the thirteenth and early fourteenth centuries.
This was the period of rapid expansion of commerce and industry. Among the records based on the double entry system to the book of a French form, the Fremes Bonis of Mortauben, which were kept during the years 1345. This form the use of books to obtain a review of its position and made up a list of its debtors and creditors. l.C.B Niclcerson reported in his book Accounting Hand Book for Non-Accountants, that book has been preserved from 1297 belonging to Riherio and Baldo Fini in which accounts were opened not only for personal, but for things and two classes were debited and credited vice versa in regular fashion.