Double-entry bookkeeping and single-entry bookkeeping: Their comparative advantages, complementarity and coexistence

Abstract

The discussions on the relationship of the development of capitalism with double-entry bookkeeping (DEB) and single-entry bookkeeping (SEB), initiated by Sombart and Yami, gained a new quality after Bryer's research. During these discussions, the parties repeatedly referred to the comparative advantages of DEB and SEB. But these advantages were only mentioned, and their detailed analysis was not carried out. This article is devoted to filling this gap. The analysis showed that both systems completely coincided at the basic level: they were intended for capital accounting, formed the same balance sheets, and used the same methods and registers. The differences were only in the smaller nomenclature of accounts formed by various stages of the SEB in the General Ledger and, accordingly, in lower costs for its maintenance. Therefore, DEB can be interpreted as an advanced version of SEB. Both systems, mistakenly perceived as competitors, complemented each other well, contributing to the development of capitalism in the entire spectrum of its transitional forms.