IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/abacus/v57y2021i1p126-152.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Life and Works of Luca Pacioli (1446/7–1517), Humanist Educator

Author

Listed:
  • Alan Sangster

Abstract

Accounting has few heroes, but one that most acknowledge as worthy of that accolade is Luca Pacioli, the man who published the first printed exposition of double entry bookkeeping in 1494. This was the publication that led to the development of the accounting systems we use today. However, if we consider our literature on Pacioli, it is found to be not just confusing and contradictory, but undecided as to who he was and what he did, or did not do. This paper addresses this ambiguity and uncertainty by adopting a critical hermeneutic analysis of the literature in order to present a more authentic perception of the life and works of Luca Pacioli. Archival discoveries of the past 20 years are embraced with Pacioli's own writings, and those of others who have sought to identify the man and his ambition. The view it reveals shows Pacioli as far more than the peripatetic friar and journeyman teacher of mathematics described in our literature; and it fills a much larger gap than the contradictions and confusion implied in our knowledge of the man who many consider to be the ‘father of accounting’.

Suggested Citation

  • Alan Sangster, 2021. "The Life and Works of Luca Pacioli (1446/7–1517), Humanist Educator," Abacus, Accounting Foundation, University of Sydney, vol. 57(1), pages 126-152, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:abacus:v:57:y:2021:i:1:p:126-152
    DOI: 10.1111/abac.12218
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/abac.12218
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/abac.12218?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Alan Sangster & Giovanna Scataglinibelghitar, 2010. "Luca Pacioli: The Father of Accounting Education," Accounting Education, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 19(4), pages 423-438.
    2. Sangster, Alan & Franklin, Ellie & Alwis, Dee & Abdul-Rahim, Jo & Stoner, Greg, 2014. "Using Pacioli’s pedagogy and medieval text in today’s introductory accounting course," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 16-35.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Macve, Richard, 2021. "Pacioli’s Lens: Through a glass, darkly," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 112170, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Deresse Mersha Lakew & Mohammed Getahun Musa, 2019. "Assessment of Undergraduate Accounting and Finance Education in Ethiopia," International Journal of Business and Social Research, LAR Center Press, vol. 9(3), pages 21-37, March.
    2. Apostolou, Barbara & Dorminey, Jack W. & Hassell, John M. & Rebele, James E., 2015. "Accounting education literature review (2013–2014)," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 69-127.
    3. Anna Vysotskaya, 2018. "Accounting Games: Using Matrix Algebra in Creating the Accounting Models," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 6(9), pages 1-9, August.
    4. Kim Yuryevich, Tsygankov, 2024. "Double-entry bookkeeping and single-entry bookkeeping: Their comparative advantages, complementarity and coexistence," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    5. Apostolou, Barbara & Dorminey, Jack W. & Hassell, John M. & Watson, Stephanie F., 2013. "Accounting education literature review (2010–2012)," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 107-161.
    6. Deresse Mersha Lakew & Mohammed Getahun Musa, 2019. "Assessment of Undergraduate Accounting and Finance Education in Ethiopia," International Journal of Business and Social Research, MIR Center for Socio-Economic Research, vol. 9(3), pages 21-37, March.
    7. Lam Khanh Tran & Hung Tri Tang & Thien Huu Nguyen, 2024. "The interdisciplinary nature of psychology and accounting: A review and research," HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF SCIENCE - ECONOMICS AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION, HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, HO CHI MINH CITY OPEN UNIVERSITY, vol. 14(3), pages 94-108.
    8. Christian Rainero & Giuseppe Modarelli & Alessandro Migliavacca & Riccardo Coda, 2021. "Early Traces of Materiality and Relevance Principles in Luca Pacioli’s Tractatus XI," International Journal of Business and Management, Canadian Center of Science and Education, vol. 15(9), pages 153-153, July.
    9. Sangster, Alan & Franklin, Ellie & Alwis, Dee & Abdul-Rahim, Jo & Stoner, Greg, 2014. "Using Pacioli’s pedagogy and medieval text in today’s introductory accounting course," Journal of Accounting Education, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 16-35.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:abacus:v:57:y:2021:i:1:p:126-152. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/journal.asp?ref=0001-3072 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.