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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.
| image = robert-kiyosaki.jpg ▼
| 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>
== The language of accountable growth ==
| author = Robert Kiyosaki, author of ''Rich Dad Poor Dad'' {{Robert Kiyosaki/attribution}} ▼
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| text = I“Accounting haveis nothe usepreparation forand bodyguards,generation butof Iinformation haveand verythe specificaggregation useof that forinformation twoin highlya trainedway certifiedthat’s publicuseful accountants.in decision-making.”<ref>{{cite web |title=Elvis,Learning Taxes,to andUse theFinancial CPAAccounting Dilemma:Numbers Why Your Bodyguard Should Be an AccountantStrategically |url=https://wwwglobalyouth.jsmorluwharton.comupenn.edu/ceo-cornerarticles/elvisbusiness/learning-to-use-financial-accounting-taxnumbers-cpastrategically/ |authorwebsite=JohnWharton S.Global MorluYouth IIProgram |datepublisher=2025-12-01Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania |websitedate=JS Morlu Blog2014 |access-date=2025-12-2630}}</ref>
| author = ElvisCatherine PresleySchrand, AmericanWharton singeraccounting and actorprofessor {{ElvisCatherine PresleySchrand/attribution}}
}}
}}
| image = warren-buffett.jpg
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| text = “If you’re interested in business, I definitely think you ought to learn all the accounting you can by the time you’re in your early 20s. Accounting is the language of business.”<ref>{{cite web |title=1998 Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meeting Transcript |url=https://www.cnbc.com/1998/05/04/berkshire-hathaway-annual-meeting-1998.html |website=CNBC Buffett Archive |publisher=CNBC |access-date=2025-12-30}}</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, investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway {{Warren Buffett/attribution}}
}}
}}
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| text = Creativity“Obviously, isyou greathave butto not inknow 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=RuleA 34:Lesson Beon aElementary, brownWorldly rat if you want to succeedWisdom |url=https://www.davidsonwpritholtz.com/blog2014/201609/03/rulecharles-34mungers-bespeech-aat-brownusc-ratbusiness-ifschool-you-want-to-succeed1994/ |website=DavidsonThe WPBig Picture |publisher=DavidsonRitholtz WPWealth Management |date=1994 |access-date=2025-12-31 |date=March 2016 |author=Andrew Davidson30}}</ref>
| author = CharlesCharlie ScottMunger, Americanvice businessman and former CEOchairman of Intermark and FuquaBerkshire IndustriesHathaway {{CharlesCharlie ScottMunger/attribution}}
}}
}}
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| image = charleseric-lyellries.jpg
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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> ▼ | text = Never call an accountant a credit to his profession; a good accountant is a debit to his profession. <ref>{{cite web |title=Get to Know Conductor. We Think You’ll Like (and Trust) It. |url=https://harmonate.com/get-to-know-conductor-we-think-youll-like-and-trust-it/ |date=2021-04-23 |website=Harmonate Blog |access-date=2025-12-26}}</ref>
| author = CharlesEric LyellRies, Scottish geologistAuthor {{CharlesEric LyellRies/attribution}}
}}
}}
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| image = bethany-mclean.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 = 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 = BethanyEd McLeandeHaan, Americanaccounting journalistprofessor at Stanford Graduate School of Business {{BethanyEd McLeandeHaan/attribution}}
}}
}}
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| image = charlie-munger.jpg ▼| {{Quote
| 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> ▼ | text = “Proper 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 = CharlieHarold MungerGeneen, viceformer chairman of BerkshireITT HathawayCorporation {{CharlieHarold MungerGeneen/attribution}}
}}
}}
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▲ | 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>
| text = Life is like accounting, everything must be balanced. <ref>no primary source; widely attributed to Gail Godwin on quotes sites</ref> ▼ | author = GailWarren GodwinBuffett, CEO of Berkshire Hathaway {{GailWarren GodwinBuffett/attribution}}
}}
}}
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| image = charlie-munger.jpg ▼| {{Quote
| text = “Obviously,“It’s youwild havethat towe knoware accounting.not It’steaching the languageall of practicalour businessmiddle life.schoolers Itand washigh aschoolers veryhow usefulto thingmanage tohousehold deliverfinance, tounderstanding civilization…things double-entrylike bookkeepingcredit wasand ainterest helland ofrisk… anYou invention…need to althoughgo accountingin isrecognizing the startinghouse place,always it’swins onlyon aaverage… crudeWe approximationmust learn to speak the language of business.”<ref>{{cite web |title=AFinancial LessonLiteracy on Elementary, WorldlyStarts WisdomYoung |url=https://ritholtzwww.com/2014gsb.stanford.edu/09insights/charlesfinancial-mungersliteracy-speechstarts-at-usc-business-school-1994/young |website=TheStanford BigGraduate PictureSchool of Business |publisher=Ritholtz WealthStanford ManagementUniversity |date=19942021 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = CharlieEd MungerdeHaan, viceaccounting chairmanprofessor ofat BerkshireStanford Graduate School of HathawayBusiness {{CharlieEd MungerdeHaan/attribution}}
}}
}}
== Measurement and valuation discipline ==
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| text = “CreativeThe word accounting iscomes anfrom absolute curse tothe aword civilizationaccountability. OneIf couldyou argueare thatgoing double-entryto bookkeepingbe was one of history’s great advances. Using accounting for fraud and folly is a disgrace. In a democracyrich, it often takes ayou scandalneed to triggerbe reform.accountable Enron was the most obvious example of a business culture gone wrong in a long,for longyour timemoney.” <ref>{{cite web |title=68Accounts InspirationalPayable Quotes: onAdvice, Sayings, and Accounting Knowledge from the Experts |url=https://graciousquoteswww.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 = CharlieRobert MungerKiyosaki, vice chairmanauthor of Berkshire''Rich Dad Poor HathawayDad'' {{CharlieRobert MungerKiyosaki/attribution}}
}}
}}
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| image = warren-buffett.jpg ▼| {{Quote
| text = “Tell 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> ▼ | text = “Managers 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 = WarrenEliyahu BuffettGoldratt, investormanagement theorist and CEOauthor of Berkshirethe Theory of HathawayConstraints {{WarrenEliyahu BuffettGoldratt/attribution}}
}}
}}
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| text = CompaniesCapital runisn’t bythis engineerspile don’t makeof money, butsitting companiessomewhere; runit’s byan accountantsaccounting don’t make anything at allconstruct. <ref>{{cite webnews |title=AccountsWhy PayableWarren Quotes:Buffett Advice,Is Sayings,Hiding and$61 AccountingBillion Knowledgein fromPlain the ExpertsSight |url=https://www.netsuitefool.com/portalinvesting/resourcegeneral/articles2014/accounting07/accounts20/according-payableto-warren-buffett-accounting-quotesnumbers-are.shtmlaspx |websitework=NetSuiteThe |publisher=OracleMotley Corp.Fool |date=20202014-1107-20 |author=BridgetJohn McCreaMaxfield |access-date=2025-12-26}}</ref>
| author = PeterBethany KruegerMcLean, American journalist {{PeterBethany KruegerMcLean/attribution}}
}}
}}
| image = warren-buffett.jpg
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| text = “In“Managers insurance,and asinvestors elsewhere,must therecognize reactionthat ofaccounting weaknumbers managementsare tothe weakbeginning, operationsnot isthe oftenend, weakof accountingbusiness 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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| text = “AccountingCompanies doesrun notby makeengineers corporatedon’t earningsmake ormoney, balancebut sheetscompanies morerun volatile.by Accountingaccountants justdon’t increases the transparency ofmake volatilityanything inat earningsall.” <ref>{{cite newsweb |title=TheAccounts EndPayable ofQuotes: Mark-to-MarketAdvice, Sayings, and Accounting? Knowledge from the Experts |url=https://www.theatlanticnetsuite.com/businessportal/archiveresource/2008articles/09accounting/the-end-ofaccounts-markpayable-to-market-accounting/8790/quotes.shtml |workwebsite=The AtlanticNetSuite |authorpublisher=MeganOracle McArdleCorp. |date=20082020-0911-3020 |author=Bridget McCrea |access-date=2025-12-3026}}</ref>
| author = DianePeter Garnick, investment strategist at InvescoKrueger {{DianePeter GarnickKrueger/attribution}}
}}
}}
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| text = “Carl 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>
| 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 = WarrenCharlie BuffettMunger, CEOvice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway {{WarrenCharlie BuffettMunger/attribution}}
}}
}}
| image = warren-buffett.jpg
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| text = In“In theinsurance, longas runelsewhere, managementthe stressingreaction accountingof appearanceweak overmanagements economicto substanceweak usuallyoperations achievesis littleoften ofweak eitheraccounting. ”<ref>{{cite web |title=68Berkshire InspirationalHathaway QuotesInc. on1982 AccountingAnnual Shareholder Letter |url=https://graciousquoteswww.berkshirehathaway.com/accountingletters/1982.html |website=BerkshireHathaway.com |publisher=Berkshire Hathaway |date=1983 |access-date=2025-12-2630}}</ref>
| author = Warren Buffett, investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway {{Warren Buffett/attribution}}
}}
}}
== Volatility, risk, and managerial judgment ==
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| image = mary-archer.jpg ▼| {{Quote
| text = It“Accounting soundsdoes extraordinary,not but it’smake acorporate factearnings thator balance sheets canmore makevolatile. fascinatingAccounting reading.just increases the transparency of volatility in earnings.”<ref>{{cite webnews |title=10The FunnyEnd andof Inspirational Quotes forMark-to-Market AccountantsAccounting? |url=https://www.btpartnerstheatlantic.com/technology-blogsbusiness/10archive/2008/09/the-funnyend-andof-inspirationalmark-quotesto-formarket-accountantsaccounting/8790/ |work=The Atlantic |websiteauthor=BTMegan PartnersMcArdle |date=20202008-0509-0530 |access-date=2025-12-2630}}</ref>
| author = MaryDiane ArcherGarnick, Britishinvestment scientiststrategist at Invesco {{MaryDiane ArcherGarnick/attribution}}
}}
}}
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| image = cormaccharlie-mccarthymunger.jpg
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▲ | text = “Proper 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>
| 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 = CormacCharlie McCarthyMunger, Americanvice novelistchairman of Berkshire Hathaway {{CormacCharlie McCarthyMunger/attribution}}
}}
}}
}}
▲| image = warren-buffett.jpg
▲ | 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 = RobertWarren KiyosakiBuffett, authorCEO of ''RichBerkshire Dad Poor Dad''Hathaway {{ RobertWarren KiyosakiBuffett/attribution}}
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▲ | text = Life is like accounting, everything must be balanced. <ref>no primary source; widely attributed to Gail Godwin on quotes sites</ref>
▲ | 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 = EricGail Ries, AuthorGodwin {{EricGail RiesGodwin/attribution}}
}}
}}
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| 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}}
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== Integrity and public trust ==
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| image = charlie-munger.jpg ▼| {{Quote
| text = “We 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>
| 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 = CharlieArthur MungerLevitt, vice chairman of Berkshirethe U.S. Securities and Exchange HathawayCommission {{CharlieArthur MungerLevitt/attribution}}
}}
}}
| image = warren-buffett.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = “IfIn you’re interestedthe inlong businessrun, Imanagement definitely think you ought to learn all thestressing accounting youappearance canover byeconomic thesubstance timeusually you’reachieves inlittle your earlyof 20seither. Accounting is the language of business.”<ref>{{cite web |title=199868 BerkshireInspirational HathawayQuotes Annualon Meeting TranscriptAccounting |url=https://www.cnbcgraciousquotes.com/1998accounting/05/04/berkshire-hathaway-annual-meeting-1998.html |website=CNBC Buffett Archive |publisher=CNBC |access-date=2025-12-3026}}</ref>
| author = Warren Buffett, investor and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway {{Warren Buffett/attribution}}
}}
}}
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| image = charlieluca-mungerpacioli.jpg
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| text = “When 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> ▼ | 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 = CharlieLuca MungerPacioli, viceRenaissance chairmanmathematician ofand Berkshire“father of Hathawayaccounting” {{CharlieLuca MungerPacioli/attribution}}
}}
}}
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▲| image = charlie-munger.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = “I“History, thinkcommon Enronsense isand experience tell us that at the firstheart shoeof toour drop.markets There’sare afaith kindand trust in the honesty of Gresham’scorporate law,financial whererecords. badOne conductwho drivesweakens outthat trust without good conductcause does no one a service.”<ref>{{cite web |title=ChattingA WithPartnership Charlie:for Thethe Mark Twain ofPublic FinanceTrust |url=https://lawwww.stanfordsec.edugov/stanford-lawyernews/articlesspeech/chatting-with-charlie-the1998/1998-mark-twain-of-finance/89 |website=StanfordU.S. LawyerSecurities and Exchange Commission |publisher=Stanford Law SchoolSEC |date=20031998-09-28 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = CharlieByron MungerWoodside, viceformer chairmanSEC ofcommissioner Berkshire(as Hathawayquoted by Arthur Levitt) {{CharlieByron MungerWoodside/attribution}}
}}
}}
| image = charlie-munger.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = “Carl“No BraunCEO didexamining notbooks knowtoday howunderstands towhat readthe ahell profit-and-lossis statementgoing oron… aAccounting balancehas sheetsteadily todegraded saveover histhe life.past He30 would sayyears, ‘Our standardand accounting methodfirms ishave asinine.sold We’re building oil refineries,out fortime God’safter saketime. 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=AChatting LessonWith onCharlie: Elementary,The WorldlyMark WisdomTwain of Finance |url=https://ritholtzlaw.comstanford.edu/2014stanford-lawyer/09articles/charleschatting-mungerswith-speechcharlie-atthe-uscmark-businesstwain-schoolof-1994finance/ |website=The BigStanford PictureLawyer |publisher=RitholtzStanford WealthLaw ManagementSchool |date=19942003 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = Charlie Munger, vice chairman of Berkshire Hathaway {{Charlie Munger/attribution}}
}}
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| {{Quote
| text = “Accounting“When isaccounting thepractices preparationare anddefined generationmore ofby informationgimmickry andthan theby aggregationtheir representation of thatunderlying informationbusiness inconditions, apublic waytrust that’sis useful in decision-makingjeopardized.”<ref>{{cite web |title=LearningA toPartnership Usefor Financial Accountingthe NumbersPublic StrategicallyTrust |url=https://globalyouthwww.whartonsec.upenn.edugov/articlesnews/businessspeech/learning1998/1998-to-use-financial-accounting-numbers-strategically/89 |website=WhartonU.S. GlobalSecurities and YouthExchange ProgramCommission |publisher=Wharton School, University of PennsylvaniaSEC |date=20141998-09-28 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = CatherineArthur SchrandLevitt, Whartonchairman accountingof professorthe U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission {{CatherineArthur SchrandLevitt/attribution}}
}}
}}
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| image = johann-wolfgang-von-goethe.jpg ▼| {{Quote
| text = “We“Double-entry thinkbookkeeping… ais lotone aboutof howthe tofinest communicateinventions financialof informationthe tohuman our investorsmind, and lenders…every Weprudent shouldmaster thinkof morea abouthouse how weshould communicateintroduce it tointo ourhis employees so that they understand iteconomy.”<ref>{{cite web |title=EmployeesSecond CareLuca AboutPacioli Organization Finances—but Do They Understand Them?Lecture |url=https://www.gsbecb.stanfordeuropa.edueu/insightspress/employees-care-about-organization-finances-do-they-understand-themkey/date/2007/html/sp071114.en.html |website=StanfordEuropean GraduateCentral School of BusinessBank |publisher=StanfordEuropean Central UniversityBank |date=20202007 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = EdJohann deHaan,Wolfgang accountingvon professorGoethe at(through Stanforda Graduatecharacter Schoolin of*Wilhelm BusinessMeister’s Theatrical Calling*) {{EdJohann Wolfgang von deHaanGoethe/attribution}}
}}
}}
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▲| image = bethanycharlie- mcleanmunger.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = “It’s“Creative wildaccounting thatis wean areabsolute notcurse teachingto alla ofcivilization. ourOne middlecould schoolersargue andthat highdouble-entry schoolersbookkeeping howwas toone manageof householdhistory’s finance,great understandingadvances. thingsUsing likeaccounting creditfor fraud and interestfolly andis risk…a Youdisgrace. needIn a democracy, it often takes a scandal to gotrigger inreform. recognizingEnron was the housemost alwaysobvious winsexample onof average…a Webusiness mustculture learngone towrong speakin thea languagelong, oflong businesstime.” <ref>{{cite web |title=Financial68 LiteracyInspirational StartsQuotes Youngon Accounting |url=https://wwwgraciousquotes.gsb.stanford.educom/insightsaccounting/financial-literacy-starts-young |website=Stanford Graduate School of Business |publisher=Stanford University |date=2021 |access-date=2025-12-3026}}</ref>
| author = EdCharlie deHaanMunger, accountingvice professorchairman atof Stanford Graduate School ofBerkshire BusinessHathaway {{EdCharlie deHaanMunger/attribution}}
}}
}}
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| {{Quote
| text = “We must notguard letthe pressuresintegrity toof satisfythe Wallprocess. StreetIn expectationsdoing orso unrealisticwe demandswill tostrengthen deliverinvestor aconfidence, certainachieve quarterlya earnings result lead us to compromise thehigher quality of our accounting and financial reporting. Weand mustserve adherethe tobest theinterests highestof qualityour standardsNation.”<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 = maryluca- archerpacioli.jpg
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| text = “When“The accountingbooks practicescannot arebe definedclosed moreunless bythe gimmickrydebits thanequal bythe theircredits; representationwhen ofthe underlyingdebit businessand conditionscredit have been separately summed, publicthe two sums trustshall isbe jeopardizedequal.”<ref>{{cite webbook |titleauthor=ALuca PartnershipPacioli for|title=Paciolo the Publicon TrustAccounting |urltranslator=https://wwwW.sec.gov/news/speech/1998/1998-89 |website=U.SW. SecuritiesCooper and ExchangeYuji CommissionIjiri |publisher=SECRichard D. Irwin |date=1998-09-281963 |access-datepages=175 |oclc=2025-12-30221005624}}</ref>
| author = ArthurLuca LevittPacioli, chairmanRenaissance ofmathematician theand U.S.“father Securities and Exchangeof Commissionaccounting” {{ArthurLuca LevittPacioli/attribution}}
}}
}}
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▲| image = charlie-munger.jpg
| {{Quote
| text = “We“I mustthink guardEnron is the integrityfirst ofshoe theto processdrop. In doing so we will strengthen investor confidence, achieveThere’s a higher qualitykind of financialGresham’s reportinglaw, andwhere servebad theconduct bestdrives interestsout of ourgood Nationconduct.”<ref>{{cite web |title=AChatting PartnershipWith forCharlie: theThe PublicMark TrustTwain of Finance |url=https://wwwlaw.secstanford.govedu/newsstanford-lawyer/speecharticles/1998/1998chatting-with-charlie-the-89mark-twain-of-finance/ |website=U.S.Stanford Securities and Exchange CommissionLawyer |publisher=SECStanford Law School |date=1998-09-282003 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = ArthurCharlie LevittMunger, vice chairman of the U.S. Securities and ExchangeBerkshire CommissionHathaway {{ArthurCharlie LevittMunger/attribution}}
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| text = “History,Never commoncall sensean andaccountant experiencea tellcredit usto thathis atprofession; thea heartgood ofaccountant ouris markets are faith and trust in the honestya ofdebit corporateto financialhis recordsprofession. One who weakens that trust without good cause does no one a service.”<ref>{{cite web |title=AGet Partnershipto forKnow theConductor. We Think PublicYou’ll Like (and Trust) It. |url=https://wwwharmonate.sec.govcom/news/speech/1998/1998get-to-know-conductor-we-89think-youll-like-and-trust-it/ |websitedate=U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission2021-04-23 |publisherwebsite=SECHarmonate |date=1998-09-28Blog |access-date=2025-12-3026}}</ref>
| author = ByronCharles WoodsideLyell, formerScottish SEC commissioner (as quoted by Arthur Levitt)geologist {{ByronCharles WoodsideLyell/attribution}}
}}
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▲ | 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>
▲ | 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 = HaroldCharlie GeneenMunger, formervice chairman of ITTBerkshire CorporationHathaway {{HaroldCharlie GeneenMunger/attribution}}
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== Culture, craft, and the human side ==
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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>
▲ | text = “Tell 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 = EliyahuElvis GoldrattPresley, managementAmerican theoristsinger and author of the Theory of Constraintsactor {{EliyahuElvis GoldrattPresley/attribution}}
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| image = lucacharles-pacioliscott.jpg
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| 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>
| 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 = LucaCharles PacioliScott, RenaissanceAmerican mathematicianbusinessman and “fatherformer CEO of accounting”Intermark and Fuqua Industries {{LucaCharles PacioliScott/attribution}}
}}
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| image = lucamary-pacioliarcher.jpg
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| 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>
▲ | text = “When 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 = LucaMary PacioliArcher, RenaissanceBritish mathematician and “father of accounting”scientist {{LucaMary PacioliArcher/attribution}}
}}
}}
{{references}}
▲| image = johann-wolfgang-von-goethe.jpg
| text = “Double-entry bookkeeping… is one of the finest inventions of the human mind, and every prudent master of a house should introduce it into his economy.”<ref>{{cite web |title=Second Luca Pacioli Lecture |url=https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/2007/html/sp071114.en.html |website=European Central Bank |publisher=European Central Bank |date=2007 |access-date=2025-12-30}}</ref>
| author = Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (through a character in *Wilhelm Meister’s Theatrical Calling*) {{Johann Wolfgang von Goethe/attribution}}
|