Being such a fundamental part of the human experience, accounting has been around for literally millenia. It fostered mathematical and language development. In some cultures, it even predates written language. For this reason, it’s not surprising that accounting uses a very particular vocabulary and set of concepts that can be intimidating to a newcomer. Credits and debits. Assets and liabilities. Balance sheet. Ledgers and journals.
It took me a while to get used to these things. But once I did, I realized they aren’t that difficult. Maybe it is just a matter of finding the right way to explain them.
This series of articles is my attempt to capture some of my “a-ha” moments while learning accounting. Hopefully, it will help someone out there grasp these ideas in a more intuitive and modern way.
In this first article, we’ll start with the basics: bookkeeping.
Disclaimer: in this article, I’ll simplify some concepts and use slightly different terminology than traditional accounting for didactic purposes. If you’re an accountant, please bear with me.