1. Introduction
Accounting is one of the oldest professions. The history of accounting
dates back to the earliest days of civilization driven by the trade system of
crops and products necessary for survival. As the barter system expanded
to include monetary exchange, methods were formalized by 2000 BC. To
include the creation of accurate records of the quantities and relative
values (Jonson, 2009, p1.)
The history of accounting is incomplete without the mention of the creation of the
double entry method created by Luca Pacioli. In 2009 Jonson states that “In 1494, he
wrote a textbook that was a compilation of mathematical and accounting knowledge of
his time. His textbook provided the first printed description of the double entry
accounting system” (Jonson, 2009, p.1). As we as a civilization the evolved, the
profession of accounting has become more and more important in one’s everyday life.
“Accounting is an information and measurement system that identifies, records, and
communicates relevant, reliable and comparable information about an organization’s
business activities (Wild, Shaw, and Chiappetta 2013 p.4). With the rapid expansion of
the economy and businesses today the accounting profession has become a global system
of real time transactions and systems.
The researcher has been interested in the accounting field for quite a few years
now and has worked several accounting jobs in the past. A few of those jobs included the
Philadelphia Water Company where he assisted the accounting division sort through the
inventories of their sub stations, Fiserv Securities working in their Automated Customer
Account Transfers (ACAT) division aiding customers with the delivery and retrieval of
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their stock and money market accounts, and in a bakery where he was in charge of the
monthly inventories. These jobs were all challenging and different in their own way, but
the one thing they had in common was that the academic was always trying to fix or
reconcile errors. The extensive involvement into the different aspects of the accounting
has led the researcher to actively seek a Degree in Forensic Accounting and his Certified
Public Accountant (CPA) license.
2. Opportunities
The modern business world is ever changing and the accounting field is
diversifying to keep up with the needs and demands that businesses require to stay
competitive in today’s economy. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics
