Italian Renaissance: Birth of Double Entry Bookkeeping
The innovative Italians of the Renaissance (14th -16th century) are widely acknowledged to be the
fathers of modern accounting. They elevated trade and commerce to new levels, and actively sought
better methods of determining their profits.
Although Arabic numerals were introduced long before, it was during this period that the Italians
became the first to use them regularly in tracking business accounts – an improvement over Roman
numerals the importance of which cannot be overstated. They kept extensive business records, as the
use of capital and credit on a large scale developed: The evolutionary trend toward double entry
bookkeeping was underway.