0. Introduction to accounting
Welcome to the Accounting Boot Camp: a course designed especially for accounting 101 students. Here you will find the accounting fundamentals that you need to develop your accounting knowledge and skills.
The student resources for Accounting Boot Camp are arranged under the Resources menu above.
The student resources for Accounting Boot Camp are arranged under the Resources menu above.
Color Accounting / Colour Accounting
Accounting Boot Camp is a revolutionary way of learning accounting: easily, quickly AND enjoyably. It utilizes the proven Color Accounting learning technology and approach. Color can also be spelled colour, and throughout this website we will utilize the north American spelling for convenience.
Traditionally, accounting has been taught as a mathematical subject using the directions 'left' and 'right' to mean both general ledger positions/accounts AND ALSO as a means of 'increasing' or 'decreasing' the balance of those accounts. It's no wonder that many people find traditional debits and credits extremely confusing!
Color Accounting replaces that confusion with a simple color-coded system which is logical and easy to learn. In essence, we will initially use the colors green and yellow to signify debits and credits, while you are learning how accounting works.
Accounting is truly easy when you can see it.
Traditionally, accounting has been taught as a mathematical subject using the directions 'left' and 'right' to mean both general ledger positions/accounts AND ALSO as a means of 'increasing' or 'decreasing' the balance of those accounts. It's no wonder that many people find traditional debits and credits extremely confusing!
Color Accounting replaces that confusion with a simple color-coded system which is logical and easy to learn. In essence, we will initially use the colors green and yellow to signify debits and credits, while you are learning how accounting works.
Accounting is truly easy when you can see it.
When and why was it invented?
Accounting is more about 'accountability' than 'counting'.
Modern accounting was invented so that people with capital (wealth/assets) could have a rigorous way to calculate whether their capital was increasing (profits), or decreasing (losses), as a result of their business activities. As the separation between the 'provider of the capital' (originally the owner and later also financiers like banks) and the 'manager of the capital' (those employed in the business to make a profit for the owners) continued to grow with the complexity of business structures, the need for accountability became even greater. This, and the associated need of useful information for decision making (by both the managers and also the owners), lead to the need for a single system that all would use: double-entry accounting.
Modern accounting was invented so that people with capital (wealth/assets) could have a rigorous way to calculate whether their capital was increasing (profits), or decreasing (losses), as a result of their business activities. As the separation between the 'provider of the capital' (originally the owner and later also financiers like banks) and the 'manager of the capital' (those employed in the business to make a profit for the owners) continued to grow with the complexity of business structures, the need for accountability became even greater. This, and the associated need of useful information for decision making (by both the managers and also the owners), lead to the need for a single system that all would use: double-entry accounting.
Signor Luca Pacioli (Puh-Cho-Lee), lived from 1446-1517 in Venice, in what is today known as Italy. He is often referred to as The Father (or Patron) of Accounting and Bookkeeping. Not because he invented accounting, which he didn't, but because he wrote the first detailed and complete 'text book' on the practice. And, even though it was all in black and white, when published this book allowed the practice to be taught to students in a pure form - a form that is still being taught today!
Video 0.1
In this short video, Peter Frampton (one of the two co-founders of Color Accounting and Accounting Boot Camp) explains the genesis of accounting. [1.05 mins]
In this short video, Peter Frampton (one of the two co-founders of Color Accounting and Accounting Boot Camp) explains the genesis of accounting. [1.05 mins]
Video 0.2
In this video, Mark Robilliard (the other co-founder of Color Accounting and Accounting Boot Camp) demonstrates why accounting was created in the first place. This activity was filmed during an actual corporate workshop in Malaysia in 2018. [5.49 mins]
In this video, Mark Robilliard (the other co-founder of Color Accounting and Accounting Boot Camp) demonstrates why accounting was created in the first place. This activity was filmed during an actual corporate workshop in Malaysia in 2018. [5.49 mins]
Video 0.3
In this video, Mark Robilliard offers an alternative approach on the whiteboard to demonstrating the birth of modern accounting.
[3.32 mins]
What is accounting?
In this video, Peter Frampton explores the topic, "What Is Accounting?"
Note: we now use the phrase "BaSIS Framework" in place of "Color Accounting Framework".
Video 0.4
Note: we now use the phrase "BaSIS Framework" in place of "Color Accounting Framework".
Video 0.4
Extenders - additional resources
Jane Gleeson-White, the author of "Double Entry: How the merchants of Venice shaped the modern world - and how their invention could make or break the planet" discusses the origins of accounting and its impact on the world. The first video goes for 5:39 minutes and, for a more detailed overview, the second video below "Monks, Maths & Magic" goes for 19:31 minutes (and contains the dubious joke: "Why did the accountant cross the road?").
Video 0.5
Video 0.5
Video 0.6
Video 0.7 . Sheldon of the Big Bang Theory helps explain why accountants are to be revered. A tongue-in-cheek view - [1:52]
Video 0.8 . Frogs and Flies. A quirky little video inspired by 7 year olds who totally got the frogs and flies color math [1:00]
FUN FACT: The manuscript that Pacioli published in 1494, Summa de arithmetica, geometria. Proportioni et proportionalita is still available today, more as an historic curiousity than required reading! Parts of the original Italian have been translated into English and your educator can provide you with a copy if you are interested. Beware though, it is 196 pages.