7 Interesting and Quirky Facts About Accounting

Now that tax season is coming to a close, it’s time to put away the laptops, bring out some margaritas and learn some fun facts about accounting.

Why?

Because you’ll never know when you might need this information at a party or at an impromptu game show.

You are welcome.

Here they are…

1. If you were wondering where the word accountant comes from, look no further. It’s from the French word compter which means to count or score.

2. The world’s first fashion book was made by a German accountant called Matthäus Schwarz where he catalogued the trendy clothing he wore between 1520 and 1560.

3. Luca Bartolomeo de Pacioli wrote the first book about double-entry accounting in 1494. He was an Italian mathematician and Franciscan friar and is called the father of modern accounting.

4. Mick Jagger nearly became an accountant. He was studying accounting and finance at the London School of Economics on a scholarship but then reunited with childhood friend, guitarist Keith Richards, who shared his interested in American blues and R&B.

5. Accountants brought down Al Capone, a notorious gangster who gained popularity during the American prohibition era. He was arrested and convicted for income tax evasion and ironically not for the crimes he committed such as bootlegging alcohol and murder.

6. Two accountants are the only two people who know who will win the Oscars before everyone else. They are in charge of the counting of the ballots and arrive at the ceremony in two separate high security cars holding the winners’ names in their briefcases.

7. Accountants play a large role in law enforcement. There are accountants called forensic accountants who conduct financial investigations about terrorists, spies and criminals.

Do you have an interesting fact about accounting we missed?

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