Essay --

Over the years, our accounting system has evolved from the tedious task of manual accounting to the ease of computerized accounting systems and programs. Computerized accounting has brought about a more efficient way of setting up and maintaining a company’s financial records. In previous years accountants would spend copious amounts of time manually recording business transactions through journalizing, posting to ledgers and mathematically checking each journal and ledger for errors. This process was necessary in order to compile data needed to produce financial reports and statements. The number of manual entries were so numerous that the margin of error was significantly increased. Simple mistakes, such as transposing a number or incorrectly recording a transaction in the wrong column could create a ripple effect of errors throughout each journal, ledger, or report issued for that period. The process of tracking one simple sales transaction was incredible compared to today’s accounting software. Manually, the transaction might begin with an invoice or sales receipt which beg...