NAVARRO, Kaycee B Phil Hist MW 1:00 2:30PM

HISTORY OF TAKEN PROFESSION/COURSE

Accounting or accountancy is the measurement, processing, and communication of financial
information about economic entities such as businesses and corporations. The modern field was
established by the Italian mathematician Luca Pacioli in 1494. Accounting, which has been called
the "language of business", measures the results of an organization's economic activities and
conveys this information to a variety of users, including investors, creditors, management,
and regulators. Practitioners of accounting are known as accountants. The terms "accounting" and
"financial reporting" are often used as synonyms.
What is Bachelor of Science Major in Accountancy?
The degree of Bachelor of Accountancy, also known as Bachelor of Accounting, is the
principal academic degree in accountancy in several countries, and is often the only
(undergraduate) degree recognised for subsequent practice as a professional accountant; see First
professional degree. Its name is abbreviated as B.Acy., B.Acc., or B. Accty.. It is also sometimes
titled Bachelor of Accounting Science (B.Acc.Sci.) or "Baccalaureus Computationis"
(B.Compt.) or "Baccalaureus Rationum" (B.Rat.).

The Growth of the Accounting profession in the Philippines

The accounting profession is one of the most rapidly progressing professions in the Philippines
today. It showed a tremendous growth in 45 years after given formal recognition by the
Government in 1923. The growth is evidenced by an ever increasing membership and specialized
services. It would be wrong, however, to assume that accountancy in the country is of recent
development, for according to historical notes it existed centuries back. Pioneers in the profession
believe it was employed in its crudest form in business dealings of our pre-Spanish rulers, traders
and property owners. Later when the Spaniards came, a new and more systematic form was
introduced. The single-entry system of bookkeeping which is more or less scientific was practiced
by the Spaniards with some Filipino participation.
In 1898 the double-entry system became popular. It replaced the old Spanish single-entry. The
transition began after the Philippines were ceded to the United States by Spain in December of
1898. The new system which gained wide acceptance in the United States and subsequently in the
Philippines was refined from the Italian system by the British practitioners, who greatly influenced
accounting practice in the Far East. It is significant to note that Philippine accounting practice
varies slightly from other far eastern countries, due to its having American influence aside from
British.
Commercial Schools
It was in 1916 that the present accounting and bookkeeping forms in use developed. It was the
college of Liberal Arts of the University of the Philippines that started giving economic courses
with some accountancy. Then followed the Jose Rizal College and soon other universities and
colleges starred offering business courses. New business schools began to rise as trade, commerce
and agriculture grew with a corresponding demand for the service of bookkeepers and individuals
skilled in commercial arithmetic. In later years, bookkeepers and individuals skilled in commercial
arithmetic multiplied, but still they were not called professionals. Though they were regularly
employed in commercial houses, they were not considered as engaged in the practice of accounting
as a profession. Although there were some professional English, Scottish and American accountant
immigrants who engaged in the practice of accounting profession here still they did not share a
common standard as to the scope of subject and responsibility with respect to practice. They were
even known or referred to in various titles, such as public accountants, chartered accountants,
certified public accountants, "contadores publicos autorizados," "auditores autorizados," "peritos
mercantiles" and others.
In 1923 the Philippine government formally recognized accounting as a profession. The
sixth Philippines Legislature gave official recognition by passing Act No. 3105 on March 17, 1923.
The law created the Board of Accountancy vested with authority to promulgate rules and
regulations, to set professional standards for the accounting profession practice and to issue
certified public accountant certificates to those who have qualified in accordance with the
requirements of the law either by a waiver of the certified public accountant examination or after
passing the same. The Board is composed of chairman and two members. The first Board of
Accountancy was composed of Chairman W. W. Larkin, who worked out for the passage of the
law, Domingo T. Dikit and Felix Tiongson, members.

PICPA Formed
Six years after the passage of the Accountancy Act, a group of 50 CPAs, mostly
practitioners, organized the Philippines Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) to
promote and maintain high professional and ethical standards among CPAs and to encourage
cordial relations among them. W. W. Larkin became the first president of the Institute. The years
that followed saw the growth of the Institute parallel to the growth of the profession as evidenced
by the: yearly increase in membership and establishment of provincial chapters throughout the
country. Conferences, seminars and meetings were held in Manila and in the different chapters.
In 1957 under the initiative of the Institute, the First Far East
Conference of Accountants was held in Manila with representatives from various far eastern
countries attending. The conference laid the grounds for future conferences and congresses which
were subsequently held abroad and the Institute, being the sole national organization of
accountants, represented the country. Others who headed the Institute through all this years were:
Jaime Hernandez, Francisco Dalupan, Enrique Caguiat, Santiago de la Cruz, Washington Sycip,
Prisco Evangelista, Belen E. Gutierrez, Artemio Tulio, Jose Torres, J. S. Zulueta, Gregorio
Licaros, Pascasio S. Banana, Alfredo Velayo, Ranulto Tulio, Francisco Gonzalez IV, Eduardo
Villanueva, Cesar Bocaling, Arsenio Narciso, Tomas G. Mapa, Jesus Casino and Arsenio Maralit.

The R. A. No. 5166

Several amendatory legislations to the Accountancy Act (1923) were passed. Noteworthy
were Acts Nos. 3264 (1925), 3302 (1926), 3401 (1927), Commonwealth Act No. 342 (1938) and
Republic Act No. 546 (1956).
Last year on August 4, 1967 a new accountancy law was passed by Congress. This is
Republic Act No. 5166. The new law created the Board of Accounting Education empowered to
prescribe necessary collegiate courses and employment or apprenticeship requirements for
admission to the CPA examination. The membership of the Board of Accountancy was increased
from three to six. The subjects of the CPA examination were also increased from four to six, the
additional subjects being taxation and management services. Other provisions are geared towards
meeting the needs and challenge of the accounting profession.
In conclusion, accounting profession today, although recognized only 45 years ago, has
attained progress parallel to that of the othci professions in the country and also has gained the
confidence and respect of all sectors of Philippine community. It faces a bright future with the
passage of the new Accountancy Act, and having a strong and vigilant association such as the
PICPA.
In the words of President Marcos "the accounting profession has contributed so much to
the attainment of economic progress. Its role in the conduct of commerce and industry has
expanded with the years. Its membership has enlarged and its services have broadened."

Accounting Changes through the Ages

We can start way back in the beginning with the invention of the abacus, used to keep track
of calculations in business. Although we didnt call it technology, we can go back centuries with
several attempts to build adding machines to help an accountant with mathematical solutions. After
the first working adding machine, came the invention of the calculator for information accuracy.
As technology advanced so did the speed and proficiency of the accountants job. But even with
adding machines and calculators the accountant still had to keep track of the businesses functions
with paper entry. The process of identifying, measuring, and communicating financial information
was documented in the form of paper records, columns of numbers and hand written statements
(How Technology, n.d.). An accountant had to be a very methodical, detail oriented person.
Towards the end of the twentieth century the accounting profession began to take on a
whole new look. Computers and accounting software has changed the industry completely. With
programs such as Microsoft Excel an accountant now had an electronic spreadsheet. The need for
adding machines, calculators, ledgers and pencils was eliminated. The job became less tedious
with less of a margin for error. The core training for accountants which included the basic
accounting, auditing and tax preparation was a thing of the past. With use of the computer an
accountant can now perform statistical accounting or forecasting analysis with greater efficiency.
Accounting technology has eliminated the number cruncher sitting behind a desk working
on peoples taxes and has allowed the accountant to find new challenges with much more to offer
then decades ago when they relied on an abacus for a calculating tool.

E-Business, the Intranet and the Extranet

Todays accounting professionals who understand the importance of the Internet will use
the Internet for e-business. They use the Internet to execute major business processes in the
enterprise. Electronic business (e-business) allows the accounting firm to coordinate activities for
internal management and combines the clients relationships with the use of digital networks.
Enterprise applications can be used on a small internal network called the Intranet. The Intranet
can distribute information to employees such as corporate policies, and programs. It centers on a
portal which is a single point of access. Information can come from several different systems using
a Web interface. They can feature such things as e-mail, internal documents such as the Code of
Ethics, and a search tool. It is a good means of communication within an organization. Accounting
professionals can also communicate outside the organization with Web technology using the
creation of an Extranet. This allows the clients to have limited access, linking to a portion of the
accounting firms Intranet to import and export files back and forth. Linking electronically
increases efficiency and cuts down on travel costs ultimately reducing operational costs

Advancements of Information Technology

Accountants were pushed towards acquiring new skills due to the advancements that
information technology has made on the accounting industry. Accountants now have to have a
high level of computer and technical skills. These skills have become part of the knowledge, and
abilities of the accounting professionals. In its report the American Institute of Certified Public
Accounts (AICPA) cities that, The knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for the entry-level
accountant now include the application and integration of information technology into the
accounting process, as well as financial and managerial accounting principles (Dillon, Kruck,
2004). From this research, not only does an accountant need to have a broad range of accounting
knowledge and a strong ability to apply accounting principles, government regulations and
interpret tax laws; they must also have strong skills in information technology, to be able to merge
accounting with information systems. These accountants will be in greater demand by the
profession (Dillon, et al, 2004).

Accounting Development through-out time by Technology

Luca Pacioli (1494) the first to describe the systems of debits, credits, journals and
ledgers. Pacioli's writings are the basis of modern accounting. Summa de Arithmetica,
Geometria, Proportioni et Proportionalita ("Review of Arithmetic, Geometry, Ratio and
Proportion"), a twenty-seven page treatise on double-entry accounting, was one of the first items
to be published on the Gutenberg printing press. Leonardo da Vinci was one of Pacioli's students
in Milan.

The Modern Accountant

Before accounting computer programs:

Entries were done manually

Mistakes could mean hours of recalculation and "missing" money
Finding errors was tedious work
Stereotypical introverted/glasses-wearing/math nerd/pocket-protector image is perpetuated

After accounting programs:

Eliminated calculators, paper ledgers, and pencils

Lowered the margin for error
Made mistakes easy to find and correct
Got the job done faster

2010 saw 1,216,900 employed accountants.

Expected job growth of 16% (average)

Average annual wage at $61,690
1/5 work more than 40 hours a week

Computers have changed the nature of accounting, turning it into a fast-paced and dynamic
profession.

The beginning of the shift in accounting technology came in the form of simple spreadsheet
programs.

VisiCalc - 1978

Upgraded companies from manually calculated spreadsheets.

 VisiCalc pioneered automatically updating cells

Quickbooks - 1998

Quickly dominated the market for day-to-day bookkeeping

Over 80% of bookkeeping using Quickbooks
4.5 million companies use QuickBooks
The most popular accounting program in the US

SaaS (software as a service) Accounting

Web-based
Secure hosting locations
Clients and accountants collaborate on the same information
For most companies, moving to the Cloud reduces IT expenses from between 30% and
70%

People skills have become just as important as keeping the numbers in check. Because of these
automated programs, accountants have more time to:

Interpret data
Give good financial advice
Suggest smart business decisions
Be more involved in their client's business

Now accountants are expected to recommend best-practices to management and suggest ways to
reduce costs while improving profit. The stereotypical "task-oriented" accountant is outdated as is
the the "shoe box full of receipts". The accountant has become a business consultant rather than a
mathematical tool.