Today, accounting is called “the language of business” because it is the vehicle for reporting financial information about a business entity to many different groups of people. This, therefore, makes it a very important and useful subject to learn.

Accounting is thousands of years old; the earliest accounting records, which date back more than 7,000 years, were found in Mesopotamia (Assyrians). The people of that time relied on primitive accounting methods to record the growth of crops and herds. Accounting evolved, improving over the years and advancing as business advanced.

Accountancy, or accounting, is the production of financial records about an organisation. Accountancy generally produces financial statements that show in money terms the economic resources under the control of management; selecting information that is relevant and representing it faithfully. The principles of accountancy are applied to accounting, bookkeeping, and auditing.