複式簿記와 資本主義의 發達에 관한 文獻史的 硏究

A historical approach to the relationship between the development of capitalism and double entry bookkeeping

The purpose of this study has been to test the assumption that double entry bookkeeping played a significant role in the economic development of capitalistic countries in Europe after Middle Ages. The logic advanced to support this assumption is sound, and double-entry bookkeeping indicates that it would have been an active catalyst and major contributor toward growth of bookkeeping. It was both a manifestation of the spirit of capitalism in its formative period as well as a propulsive agency furthering a significant economic and cultural development. According to Sombart’s work, Die Modern Kapitalismus, double-entry bookkeeping not only created the concept of capital but also produced the capitalistic enterprise. The creative significance of double-entry bookkeeping is already evident in the very origin of capitalistic enterprise. This study has demonstrated, as envisioned by such scholars as Sombart, Weber, Yamay and Winjum, that double entry bookkeeping for the ordering of economic data did make a substantial contribution to the growth and development of capitalism.