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Accounting is not merely compliance or “dry and boring” paperwork; it is the language through which economic reality is translated into decisions, incentives, and valuation—from the discipline of double-entry bookkeeping and the non-negotiable logic that debits must equal credits, to the practical demand that leaders “know the numbers—cold.” The voices assembled here treat accounting as an information system that aggregates facts for decision-making, a measurement regime that predictably shapes behavior, and the starting point—though only a crude approximation—for business valuation and the idea of capital itself. They also underscore that financial information must be communicated not only to investors and lenders but to employees, and that competence in quantitative thinking supports judgment in the ambiguous, qualitative terrain where real financial choices are made. Above all, these quotes confront the stakes of integrity: transparency can reveal volatility rather than create it, but when accounting is bent toward appearance, gimmickry, or “creative” fraud, public trust in corporate records is jeopardized—and with it, confidence in markets and institutions.
Marketing may be the outward narrative of a company, but its strategy is ultimately governed by an inward discipline: how leaders measure performance, allocate scarce resources, communicate trade-offs, and protect trust in what gets reported. This definitive collection brings together investors, regulators, academics, executives, and writers whose remarks on accounting and measurement illuminate the philosophy behind sustainable marketing—where creativity is constrained by numbers, valuation, and integrity, and where credibility with customers, employees, and capital markets is earned through transparent, high-quality reporting.
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== TheAccounting as the language of accountable growthbusiness ==
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| text = “AccountingDouble-entry bookkeeping… is one of the preparationfinest and generationinventions of informationthe human mind, and theevery aggregationprudent master of thata informationhouse inshould aintroduce wayit that’sinto usefulhis in decision-makingeconomy.”<ref>{{cite web |title=LearningSecond toLuca UsePacioli Financial Accounting Numbers StrategicallyLecture |url=https://globalyouthwww.whartonecb.upenneuropa.edueu/articlespress/businesskey/learning-to-use-financial-accounting-numbers-strategicallydate/2007/html/sp071114.en.html |website=WhartonEuropean GlobalCentral Youth ProgramBank |publisher=WhartonEuropean School, University ofCentral PennsylvaniaBank |date=20142007 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = Catherine{{Johann Schrand,Wolfgang Wharton accounting professor {{Catherinevon SchrandGoethe/attribution}}
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| text = “IfAccounting you’reis interestedthe inpreparation business,and Igeneration definitelyof thinkinformation you ought to learn alland the accountingaggregation youof canthat by the time you’reinformation in youra earlyway 20s.that’s Accountinguseful isin the language of businessdecision-making.”<ref>{{cite web |title=1998Learning Berkshireto HathawayUse AnnualFinancial Accounting MeetingNumbers TranscriptStrategically |url=https://wwwglobalyouth.cnbcwharton.comupenn.edu/1998articles/05business/04/berkshirelearning-hathawayto-annualuse-meetingfinancial-1998.htmlaccounting-numbers-strategically/ |website=CNBCWharton BuffettGlobal ArchiveYouth Program |publisher=CNBCWharton School, University of Pennsylvania |date=2014 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = Warren Buffett, investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway {{WarrenCatherine BuffettSchrand/attribution}}
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| text = “Obviously,If youyou’re haveinterested to know accounting. It’s the language of practicalin business, life.I Itdefinitely wasthink ayou veryought usefulto thinglearn toall deliverthe toaccounting civilization…you double-entrycan bookkeepingby wasthe atime hellyou’re ofin anyour invention…early although20s. accountingAccounting is the startinglanguage place,of it’s only a crude approximationbusiness.”<ref>{{cite web |title=A1998 LessonBerkshire onHathaway Elementary,Annual WorldlyMeeting WisdomTranscript |url=https://ritholtzwww.cnbc.com/20141998/05/0904/charlesberkshire-mungershathaway-speechannual-atmeeting-usc-business-school-1994/1998.html |website=TheCNBC BigBuffett PictureArchive |publisher=Ritholtz Wealth Management |date=1994CNBC |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway {{CharlieWarren MungerBuffett/attribution}}
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| text = People are accustomed to thinking of accounting as dry and boring, a necessary evil used primarily to prepare financial reports and survive audits, but that is because accounting is something that has become taken for granted.<ref>{{cite book |last=Ries |first=Eric |title=The Startup Way |publisher=Crown |date=2017}}</ref>
| author = Eric Ries, Author {{Eric Ries/attribution}}
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| image = elvis-presley.jpg ▼| {{Quote
| text = “WeI thinkhave ano lotuse aboutfor howbodyguards, tobut communicateI financialhave informationvery tospecific ouruse investorsfor and lenders… We should think more about how we communicate it to our employeestwo sohighly thattrained theycertified understandpublic itaccountants.”<ref>{{cite web |title=EmployeesElvis, CareTaxes, Aboutand Organizationthe Finances—butCPA DoDilemma: TheyWhy UnderstandYour Them?Bodyguard Should Be an Accountant |url=https://www.gsbjsmorlu.stanford.educom/insightsceo-corner/employeeselvis-caretax-about-organization-finances-do-they-understand-themcpa/ |websiteauthor=StanfordJohn GraduateS. SchoolMorlu ofII Business|date=2025-12-01 |publisherwebsite=StanfordJS UniversityMorlu |date=2020Blog |access-date=2025-12-3026}}</ref>
| author = Ed deHaan, accounting professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business {{EdElvis deHaanPresley/attribution}}
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| image = maryed- archerdehaan.jpg ▼| {{Quote
| text = We think a lot about how to communicate financial information to our investors and lenders… We should think more about how we communicate it to our employees so that they understand it.<ref>{{cite web |title=Employees Care About Organization Finances—but Do They Understand Them? |url=https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/employees-care-about-organization-finances-do-they-understand-them |website=Stanford Graduate School of Business |publisher=Stanford University |date=2020 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| text = “To be good at your business, you have to know the numbers—cold.”<ref>{{cite book |author=Donald E. Kieso; Jerry J. Weygandt; Paul D. Kimmel |title=Financial Accounting |publisher=Wiley |edition=6th |date=2005 |pages=Preface |isbn=9780471749557}}</ref> ▼ | author = Harold Geneen, former chairman of ITT Corporation {{HaroldEd GeneendeHaan/attribution}}
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▲ | text = “ToTo be good at your business, you have to know the numbers—cold. ”<ref>{{cite book |author=Donald E. Kieso; Jerry J. Weygandt; Paul D. Kimmel |title=Financial Accounting |publisher=Wiley |edition=6th |date=2005 |pages=Preface |isbn=9780471749557}}</ref>
| text = You have to understand accounting and you have to understand the nuances of accounting. It’s the language of business and it’s an imperfect language, but unless you are willing to put in the effort to learn accounting – how to read and interpret financial statements – you really shouldn’t select stocks yourself. <ref>{{cite book |last=Buffett |first=Mary |title=Warren Buffett and the Interpretation of Financial Statements: The Search for the Company with a Durable Competitive Advantage |publisher=Scribner |date=2008}}</ref> ▼ | author = Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway {{WarrenHarold BuffettGeneen/attribution}}
}}
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| text = “It’sIt’s wild that we are not teaching all of our middle schoolers and high schoolers how to manage household finance, understanding things like credit and interest and risk… You need to go in recognizing the house always wins on average… We must learn to speak the language of business.”<ref>{{cite web |title=Financial Literacy Starts Young |url=https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/insights/financial-literacy-starts-young |website=Stanford Graduate School of Business |publisher=Stanford University |date=2021 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = Ed deHaan, accounting professor at Stanford Graduate School of Business {{Ed deHaan/attribution}}
| image = barackcharlie- obamamunger.jpg ▼ | text = Obviously, you have to know accounting. It’s the language of practical business life. It was a very useful thing to deliver to civilization… double-entry bookkeeping was a hell of an invention… although accounting is the starting place, it’s only a crude approximation.<ref>{{cite web |title=A Lesson on Elementary, Worldly Wisdom |url=https://ritholtz.com/2014/09/charles-mungers-speech-at-usc-business-school-1994/ |website=The Big Picture |publisher=Ritholtz Wealth Management |date=1994 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = Mary Archer, British scientist {{ MaryCharlie ArcherMunger/attribution}} ▼
| image = cormacluca- mccarthypacioli.jpg ▼ | text = “TheThe books cannot be closed unless the debits equal the credits; when the debit and credit have been separately summed, the two sums shall be equal. ”<ref>{{cite book |author=Luca Pacioli |title=Paciolo on Accounting |translator=W. W. Cooper and Yuji Ijiri |publisher=Richard D. Irwin |date=1963 |pages=175 |oclc=221005624}}</ref> ▼ | author = {{Luca Pacioli/attribution}}
}}
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== Measurement, incentives, and valuation discipline ==
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| text = The word accounting comes from the word accountability. If you are going to be rich, you need to be accountable for your money. <ref>{{cite web |title=Accounts Payable Quotes: Advice, Sayings, and Accounting Knowledge from the Experts |url=https://www.netsuite.com/portal/resource/articles/accounting/accounts-payable-quotes.shtml |website=NetSuite |publisher=Oracle Corp. |date=2020-11-20 |author=Bridget McCrea |access-date=2025-12-26}}</ref>
| author = Robert Kiyosaki, author of ''Rich Dad Poor Dad'' {{Robert Kiyosaki/attribution}}
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| text = “TellTell me how you will measure me, and I will tell you how I behave. If you measure me in an illogical way… do not complain about illogical behavior.”<ref>{{cite book |author=Eliyahu M. Goldratt |title=The Haystack Syndrome: Sifting Information Out of the Data Ocean |publisher=North River Press |date=1990 |pages=Chapter 8 |isbn=9780884270885}}</ref>
| author = Eliyahu Goldratt, management theorist and author of the Theory of Constraints {{Eliyahu Goldratt/attribution}}
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| image = bethany-mclean.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = Capital isn’t this pile of money sitting somewhere; it’s an accounting construct. <ref>{{cite news |title=Why Warren Buffett Is Hiding $61 Billion in Plain Sight |url=https://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/07/20/according-to-warren-buffett-accounting-numbers-are.aspx |work=The Motley Fool |date=2014-07-20 |author=John Maxfield |access-date=2025-12-26}}</ref>
| author = Bethany McLean, American journalist {{Bethany McLean/attribution}}
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| image = warren-buffett.jpg
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| text = “ManagersManagers and investors must recognize that accounting numbers are the beginning, not the end, of business valuation.”<ref>{{cite web |title=Berkshire Hathaway Inc. 1982 Annual Shareholder Letter |url=https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/letters/1982.html |website=BerkshireHathaway.com |publisher=Berkshire Hathaway |date=1983 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = Warren Buffett, investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway {{Warren Buffett/attribution}}
}}
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| image = peter-krueger.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = Companies run by engineers don’t make money, but companies run by accountants don’t make anything at all. <ref>{{cite web |title=Accounts Payable Quotes: Advice, Sayings, and Accounting Knowledge from the Experts |url=https://www.netsuite.com/portal/resource/articles/accounting/accounts-payable-quotes.shtml |website=NetSuite |publisher=Oracle Corp. |date=2020-11-20 |author=Bridget McCrea |access-date=2025-12-26}}</ref>
| author = Peter Krueger {{Peter Krueger/attribution}}
| image = warren-buffett.jpg
▲ | text = You have to understand accounting and you have to understand the nuances of accounting. It’s the language of business and it’s an imperfect language, but unless you are willing to put in the effort to learn accounting – how to read and interpret financial statements – you really shouldn’t select stocks yourself. <ref>{{cite book |last=Buffett |first=Mary |title=Warren Buffett and the Interpretation of Financial Statements: The Search for the Company with a Durable Competitive Advantage |publisher=Scribner |date=2008}}</ref>
| author = {{Warren Buffett/attribution}}
}}
}}
| image = charlie-munger.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = “CarlCarl Braun did not know how to read a profit-and-loss statement or a balance sheet to save his life. He would say, ‘Our standard accounting method is asinine. We’re building oil refineries, for God’s sake. Accounting costs for all our corrosion costs as if they were an ordinary cost like office supplies. That’s crazy. We must integrate corrosion costs right into the balance sheet.’”’<ref>{{cite web |title=A Lesson on Elementary, Worldly Wisdom |url=https://ritholtz.com/2014/09/charles-mungers-speech-at-usc-business-school-1994/ |website=The Big Picture |publisher=Ritholtz Wealth Management |date=1994 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway {{Charlie Munger/attribution}}
}}
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| image = warren-buffett.jpg
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| text = “InTo insurance,be as elsewheresuccessful, theyou reactionshould ofconcentrate weakon managementsthe toworld weakof operationscompanies, isnot often weakarcane accounting mathematics.”<ref>{{cite web |title=BerkshireThe Hathawayworld’s Inc.best 1982investors Annualoffer Shareholdera Lettersecret on how to outperform the market in the long-run |url=https://www.berkshirehathawayvalens-research.com/lettersinvestor-essentials-daily/upld-upland-software-worlds-best-investors-offer-secret-outperform-market-long-run/1982.html |website=BerkshireHathaway.comValens |publisher=Berkshire HathawayResearch |date=19832021-10-26 |access-date=2025-12-3026}}</ref>
| author = Warren Buffett, investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway {{Warren Buffett/attribution}}
}}
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== VolatilityRisk, riskvolatility, and managerial judgment ==
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| text = “AccountingAccounting does not make corporate earnings or balance sheets more volatile. Accounting just increases the transparency of volatility in earnings.”<ref>{{cite news |title=The End of Mark-to-Market Accounting? |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2008/09/the-end-of-mark-to-market-accounting/8790/ |work=The Atlantic |author=Megan McArdle |date=2008-09-30 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = Diane Garnick, investment strategist at Invesco {{Diane Garnick/attribution}}
}}
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| image = charlie-munger.jpg
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| text = “ProperProper accounting is like engineering. You need a margin of safety. Thank God we don’t design bridges and airplanes the way we do accounting.”<ref>{{cite web |title=Chatting With Charlie: The Mark Twain of Finance |url=https://law.stanford.edu/stanford-lawyer/articles/chatting-with-charlie-the-mark-twain-of-finance/ |website=Stanford Lawyer |publisher=Stanford Law School |date=2003 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway {{Charlie Munger/attribution}}
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| {{Quote
| text = It has been my experience that competency in mathematics, both in numerical manipulation and in understanding its conceptual foundations, enhances a person’s ability to handle the more ambiguous and qualitative relationships that dominate our day-to-day financial decision-making.<ref>{{cite web |title=Financial education |url=https://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2003/20030403/default.htm |website=Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System |publisher=Federal Reserve |date=2003-04-03 |author=Alan Greenspan |access-date=2025-12-26}}</ref>
| author = Alan Greenspan, former Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve {{Alan Greenspan/attribution}}
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| text = I thought I could start over, you see. But now I know you can never start over. Not really. You think you have control, but you are like a fly in somebody else's web. Sometimes I think that's why I like accounting. All day, you are only dealing with numbers. You add them, multiply them, and if you are careful, you will always have a solution. There's a sequence there. An order. With numbers, you can have control. <ref>{{cite book |last=Obama |first=Barack |title=Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance |publisher=Times Books |date=1995}}</ref> ▼ | text = To be successful, you should concentrate on the world of companies, not arcane accounting mathematics. <ref>{{cite web |title=The world’s best investors offer a secret on how to outperform the market in the long-run |url=https://www.valens-research.com/investor-essentials-daily/upld-upland-software-worlds-best-investors-offer-secret-outperform-market-long-run/ |website=Valens Research |date=2021-10-26 |access-date=2025-12-26}}</ref>
| author = Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway {{WarrenBarack BuffettObama/attribution}}
}}
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| image = gail-godwin.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = Life is like accounting, everything must be balanced. <ref>no primary source; widely attributed to Gail Godwin on quotes sites</ref>
| author = Gail Godwin {{Gail Godwin/attribution}}
▲| image = barack-obama.jpg
▲ | text = I thought I could start over, you see. But now I know you can never start over. Not really. You think you have control, but you are like a fly in somebody else's web. Sometimes I think that's why I like accounting. All day, you are only dealing with numbers. You add them, multiply them, and if you are careful, you will always have a solution. There's a sequence there. An order. With numbers, you can have control. <ref>{{cite book |last=Obama |first=Barack |title=Dreams from My Father: A Story of Race and Inheritance |publisher=Times Books |date=1995}}</ref>
| author = Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States {{Barack Obama/attribution}}
▲| image = cormac-mccarthy.jpg
| text = People don’t pay attention. And then one day there’s an accounting. And after that, nothing is the same.<ref>{{cite book |last=McCarthy |first=Cormac |title=No Country for Old Men |publisher=Alfred A. Knopf |date=2005}}</ref>
| author = Cormac McCarthy, American novelist {{Cormac McCarthy/attribution}}
}}
}}
| image = warren-buffett.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = Managers thinking about accounting issues should never forget one of Abraham Lincoln's favorite riddles: How many legs does a dog have, if you call a tail a leg? The answer: Four, because calling a tail a leg doesn't make it a leg. <ref>{{cite web |title=Warren Buffett Says This 1 Simple Habit Is the Key to Success. Here Are 19 Times He Did It in Public |url=https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/warren-buffett-says-this-1-simple-habit-is-key-to-success-here-are-19-times-he-did-it-in-public.html |author=Bill Murphy Jr. |date=2020-02-14 |website=Inc. |access-date=2025-12-26}}</ref>
| author = Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway {{Warren Buffett/attribution}}
}}
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== Integrity, transparency, and public trust ==
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| text = “WeWe must not let pressures to satisfy Wall Street expectations or unrealistic demands to deliver a certain quarterly earnings result lead us to compromise the quality of our accounting and financial reporting. We must adhere to the highest quality standards.”<ref>{{cite web |title=A Partnership for the Public Trust |url=https://www.sec.gov/news/speech/1998/1998-89 |website=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission |publisher=SEC |date=1998-09-28 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = Arthur Levitt, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission {{Arthur Levitt/attribution}}
}}
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| image = warren-buffett.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = In the long run, management stressing accounting appearance over economic substance usually achieves little of either. <ref>{{cite web |title=68Chairman's InspirationalLetter Quotes on- Accounting1981 |url=https://graciousquoteswww.berkshirehathaway.com/accountingletters/1981.html |publisher=Berkshire Hathaway Inc. |date=1982-02-26 |access-date=2025-12-2631}}</ref>
| author = Warren Buffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway {{Warren Buffett/attribution}}
}}
}}
| image = luca-pacioli.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = “WhenWhen any cunning man keeps two books, one with honest entries and the other with false, he hides the truth, and you cannot rely on it; therefore be careful to keep your books with truth and integrity.”<ref>{{cite book |author=Luca Pacioli |title=Paciolo on Accounting |translator=W. W. Cooper and Yuji Ijiri |publisher=Richard D. Irwin |date=1963 |pages=12 |oclc=221005624}}</ref>
| author = Luca Pacioli, Renaissance mathematician and “father of accounting” {{Luca Pacioli/attribution}}
}}
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| text = “History,When commonaccounting sensepractices andare experiencedefined tellmore usby thatgimmickry atthan theby hearttheir of our markets are faith and trust in the honestyrepresentation of corporateunderlying financialbusiness records.conditions, One who weakens thatpublic trust without good cause does no one ais servicejeopardized.”<ref>{{cite web |title=A Partnership for the Public Trust |url=https://www.sec.gov/news/speech/1998/1998-89 |website=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission |publisher=SEC |date=1998-09-28 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = Byron Woodside, former SEC commissioner (as quoted by {{Arthur Levitt) {{Byron Woodside/attribution}}
}}
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| image = charlie-munger.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = “CreativeCreative accounting is an absolute curse to a civilization. One could argue that double-entry bookkeeping was one of history’s great advances. Using accounting for fraud and folly is a disgrace. In a democracy, it often takes a scandal to trigger reform. Enron was the most obvious example of a business culture gone wrong in a long, long time. ” <ref>{{cite webbook |last=Munger |first=Charles T. |title= 68Poor InspirationalCharlie's QuotesAlmanack: onThe AccountingWit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger | urlpublisher= https://graciousquotesDonning Company Pub. com/accounting/ | access-date= 2025-12-262008}}</ref> ▼ | text = “No CEO examining books today understands what the hell is going on… Accounting has steadily degraded over the past 30 years, and accounting firms have sold out time after time.”<ref>{{cite web |title=Chatting With Charlie: The Mark Twain of Finance |url=https://law.stanford.edu/stanford-lawyer/articles/chatting-with-charlie-the-mark-twain-of-finance/ |website=Stanford Lawyer |publisher=Stanford Law School |date=2003 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref> ▼ | author = Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway {{Charlie Munger/attribution}}
}}
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| image = charles-lyell.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = “WhenNever accountingcall practicesan areaccountant defineda morecredit byto gimmickryhis thanprofession; bya theirgood representationaccountant ofis underlyinga businessdebit conditions,to publichis trust is jeopardizedprofession.”<ref>{{cite web |title=AGet Partnershipto forKnow theConductor. PublicWe Think You’ll Like (and Trust) It. |url=https://wwwharmonate.sec.gov/newscom/speech/1998/1998get-to-know-conductor-we-think-youll-like-89 |website=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission |publisher=SEC-trust-it/ |date=19982021-0904-2823 |website=Harmonate Blog |access-date=2025-12-3026}}</ref>
| author = Arthur Levitt, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission {{ArthurCharles LevittLyell/attribution}}
}}
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| image = johannarthur-wolfgang-von-goethelevitt.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = “Double-entryWe bookkeeping…must isguard onethe integrity of the finestprocess. inventionsIn ofdoing theso humanwe mindwill strengthen investor confidence, andachieve everya prudenthigher masterquality of afinancial housereporting shouldand introduceserve itthe intobest hisinterests economyof our Nation.”<ref>{{cite web |title=SecondA LucaPartnership Paciolifor Lecturethe Public Trust |url=https://www.ecbsec.europa.eugov/pressnews/keyspeech/date1998/2007/html/sp071114.en.html1998-89 |website=EuropeanU.S. CentralSecurities Bankand Exchange Commission |publisher=European Central BankSEC |date=20071998-09-28 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (through a character in *Wilhelm Meister’s Theatrical Calling*) {{Johann Wolfgang vonArthur GoetheLevitt/attribution}}
}}
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| image = charlie-munger.jpg
| {{Quote
▲ | text = “NoI CEOthink examiningEnron books today understands whatis the hellfirst isshoe goingto on…drop. AccountingThere’s hasa steadilykind degradedof overGresham’s the past 30 yearslaw, andwhere accountingbad firmsconduct have solddrives out time aftergood timeconduct. ”<ref>{{cite web |title=Chatting With Charlie: The Mark Twain of Finance |url=https://law.stanford.edu/stanford-lawyer/articles/chatting-with-charlie-the-mark-twain-of-finance/ |website=Stanford Lawyer |publisher=Stanford Law School |date=2003 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
▲ | text = “Creative accounting is an absolute curse to a civilization. One could argue that double-entry bookkeeping was one of history’s great advances. Using accounting for fraud and folly is a disgrace. In a democracy, it often takes a scandal to trigger reform. Enron was the most obvious example of a business culture gone wrong in a long, long time.” <ref>{{cite web |title=68 Inspirational Quotes on Accounting |url=https://graciousquotes.com/accounting/ |access-date=2025-12-26}}</ref>
| author = Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway {{Charlie Munger/attribution}}
}}
}}
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| image = warren-buffett.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = “We must guard the integrity of the process. In doinginsurance, soas we will strengthen investor confidenceelsewhere, achievethe a higher qualityreaction of financialweak reportingmanagements andto serveweak theoperations bestis interests ofoften ourweak Nationaccounting.”<ref>{{cite web |title=ABerkshire PartnershipHathaway forInc. the1982 PublicAnnual TrustShareholder Letter |url=https://www.secberkshirehathaway.govcom/newsletters/speech/1998/1998-891982.html |website=U.SBerkshireHathaway. Securities and Exchange Commissioncom |publisher=SECBerkshire Hathaway |date=1998-09-281983 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = Arthur Levitt, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission {{ArthurWarren LevittBuffett/attribution}}
▲| image = luca-pacioli.jpg
▲ | text = “The books cannot be closed unless the debits equal the credits; when the debit and credit have been separately summed, the two sums shall be equal.”<ref>{{cite book |author=Luca Pacioli |title=Paciolo on Accounting |translator=W. W. Cooper and Yuji Ijiri |publisher=Richard D. Irwin |date=1963 |pages=175 |oclc=221005624}}</ref>
| author = Luca Pacioli, Renaissance mathematician and “father of accounting” {{Luca Pacioli/attribution}}
}}
}}
| image = charlie-munger.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = “INo thinkCEO Enronexamining isbooks today understands what the firsthell shoeis togoing drop.on… There’sAccounting ahas kindsteadily ofdegraded Gresham’sover lawthe past 30 years, whereand badaccounting conductfirms driveshave sold out goodtime after conducttime.”<ref>{{cite web |title=Chatting With Charlie: The Mark Twain of Finance |url=https://law.stanford.edu/stanford-lawyer/articles/chatting-with-charlie-the-mark-twain-of-finance/ |website=Stanford Lawyer |publisher=Stanford Law School |date=2003 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway {{Charlie Munger/attribution}}
}}
}}
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| image = charles-lyellscott.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = Never call an accountant a credit to his profession; a good accountantCreativity is agreat debitbut tonot hisin professionaccounting. <ref>{{cite web |title=GetRule to34: KnowBe Conductor.a Webrown Thinkrat You’llif Likeyou (andwant Trust)to It.succeed |url=https://harmonatewww.davidsonwp.com/getblog/2016/03/rule-to34-knowbe-conductora-webrown-thinkrat-youllif-likeyou-andwant-trustto-it/succeed |datewebsite=2021-04-23Davidson WP |websitepublisher=HarmonateDavidson BlogWP |access-date=2025-12-2631 |date=March 2016 |author=Andrew Davidson}}</ref>
| author = Charles Lyell, Scottish geologist {{Charles LyellScott/attribution}}
}}
}}
| image = charlie-munger.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = I would argue that a majority of the horrors we face would not have happened if the accounting profession developed and enforced better accounting. <ref>{{cite news |title=Munger on the 'Asininities' of Today's Regulators and Business Leaders |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2009/05/munger-on-the-asininities-of-todays-regulators-and-business-leaders/17894/ |work=The Atlantic |date=2009-05-20 |author=J.J. Gould |access-date=2025-12-26}}</ref>
| author = Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway {{Charlie Munger/attribution}}
}}
}}
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== Culture, craft, and the human side ==
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▲| image = elvis-presley.jpg
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| text = I have no use for bodyguards, but I have very specific use for two highly trained certified public accountants. <ref>{{cite web |title=Elvis, Taxes, and the CPA Dilemma: Why Your Bodyguard Should Be an Accountant |url=https://www.jsmorlu.com/ceo-corner/elvis-tax-cpa/ |author=John S. Morlu II |date=2025-12-01 |website=JS Morlu Blog |access-date=2025-12-26}}</ref>
| author = Elvis Presley, American singer and actor {{Elvis Presley/attribution}}
}}
}}
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▲| image = charles-scott.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = Creativity is great but not in accounting. <ref>{{cite web |title=Rule 34: Be a brown rat if you want to succeed |url=https://www.davidsonwp.com/blog/2016/03/rule-34-be-a-brown-rat-if-you-want-to-succeed |website=Davidson WP |publisher=Davidson WP |access-date=2025-12-31 |date=March 2016 |author=Andrew Davidson}}</ref>
| author = Charles Scott, American businessman and former CEO of Intermark and Fuqua Industries {{Charles Scott/attribution}}
}}
}}
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▲| image = mary-archer.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = It sounds extraordinary, but it’s a fact that balance sheets can make fascinating reading. <ref>{{cite web |title=10 Funny and Inspirational Quotes for Accountants |url=https://www.btpartners.com/technology-blogs/10-funny-and-inspirational-quotes-for-accountants |website=BT Partners |date=2020-05-05 |access-date=2025-12-26}}</ref>
▲ | author = Mary Archer, British scientist {{Mary Archer/attribution}}
}}
}}
{{references}}
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