The Gallerani Account Book Of 1305-8

Abstract

Abstract This chapter discusses the Libro dell‘entratae dell‘escita of the London branch of the Gallerani company between the years 1305 and 1308. It appears that it has not been considered in detail before by an accountant. The question of whether it represents double entry is examined. The Farolfi ledger, which may be the earliest extant example of double entry, is only six years older (Lee I 977). This research should be of interest to those who are not accounting historians because it deals with the period when bookkeeping was developing into the Italian fifteenth-century double-entry system which is still the basis of accounting throughout most of the world. Further, because it is not immediately clear whether this account book uses double entry, it raises interesting questions about the exact nature of the characteristics of double entry.