Who wrote Summa de Arithmetica, Geometrica, Proportioni et Proportinalita, regarded as foundational to accounting knowledge?

• A. Benedetto Cotrugli
• B. Luca Pacioli of Italy
• C. Della Marcatura et del Mercante Perfetto
• D. The Industrial Revolution

Answer: (B)

Recognizing who authored Summa de Arithmetica, Geometrica, Proportioni et Proportinalita is about identifying the figure who tied mathematical learning to practical business and codified early accounting methods. Luca Pacioli, an Italian mathematician, published the work in 1494 in Venice. It weaves together arithmetic, geometry, and proportion and, crucially, includes a detailed section on double-entry bookkeeping (Particularis de Computis et Scripturis). That section lays out how merchants should record transactions with debits and credits, maintain journals and ledgers, and prepare balances—providing the first comprehensive description of the double-entry system that underpins modern accounting. While other figures contributed to related ideas in accounting history, this author is the one associated with the foundational published treatment that linked mathematical methods to bookkeeping.