Our world is governed by the numbers generated by the accounts of nations and corporations. We depend on these numbers to direct our governments, our institutions, corporations, economies, societies. But where did they come from and how did they become so powerful?The answer to these questions begins in the Dark Ages in northern Italy with a new form of record keeping perfected by the merchants of Venice called double-entry bookkeeping. The story of double entry stars a Renaissance monk, mathematician, magician and constant companion of Leonardo da Vinci, his 27-page treatise for merchants, re.

This best-selling dictionary includes more than 3,800 entries covering all aspects of accounting, including financial accounting, financial reporting, management accounting, taxation, auditing, corporate finance, and accounting bodies and institutions. Its international coverage includes important terms from UK, US, Australia, India, and Asia-Pacific. Over 150 new entries have been added to this edition to reflect the very latest developments in the accounting profession, e.g. Accounting Coucil, European Financial Stability Mechanism, and General Anti-Abuse Rule. In addition, existing entries have been updated to cover the latest developments, most notably the Financial Reporting Standard Applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland, which sets out new rules in areas such as goodwill, hedge accounting, and fair value accounting. There is increased coverage of topics such as corporate governance, accounting ethics, accounting scandals, and major firms and professional bodies. With its authoritative and accessible definitions and its wide-ranging coverage, this dictionary is essential for students and professionals in accounting and finance. It is also an ideal source of reference for anyone seeking a clear guide to the often-confusing world of accountancy terms.

In 1202, a 32-year old Italian finished one of the most influential books of all time, which introduced modern arithmetic to Western Europe. Devised in India in the seventh and eighth centuries and brought to North Africa by Muslim traders, the Hindu-Arabic system helped transform the West into the dominant force in science, technology, and commerce, leaving behind Muslim cultures which had long known it but had failed to see its potential. The young Italian, Leonardo of Pisa (better known today as Fibonacci), had learned the Hindu number system when he traveled to North Africa with his father, a customs agent. The book he created was Liber abbaci, the 'Book of Calculation', and the revolution that followed its publication was enormous. Arithmetic made it possible for ordinary people to buy and sell goods, convert currencies, and keep accurate records of possessions more readily than ever before. Liber abbaci's publication led directly to large-scale international commerce and the scientific revolution of the Renaissance. Yet despite the ubiquity of his discoveries, Leonardo of Pisa remains an enigma. His name is best known today in association with an exercise in Liber abbaci whose solution gives rise to a sequence of numbers - the Fibonacci sequence - used by some to predict the rise and fall of financial markets, and evident in myriad biological structures. In The Man of Numbers, Keith Devlin recreates the life and enduring legacy of an overlooked genius, and in the process makes clear how central numbers and mathematics are to our daily lives.