From the abacus to artificial intelligence: what did accountants calculate with, and why did the abacus fall out of use?

Q: What was the path from the arithmometer to the computer?

The arithmometer. The Frenchman Thomas de Colmar obtained a patent for the arithmometer in 1820. The Smithsonian museum describes such machines as among the first commercially successful calculating machines. According to an Oxford historian, however, they did not begin to spread widely before the late 1870s: for a long time after the invention the machine was little used. The electronic calculator. In the early 1970s calculators moved from the desk into the pocket and became cheaper. The first business computer. The British confectionery and teashop company J. Lyons built the LEO I computer. Its first business task was calculating the value of the ingredients that went into bread and cakes (Bakery Valuations). On 29–30 November 1951 this work was moved entirely to LEO, and later payroll was also put on it. The spreadsheet. In 1979 VisiCalc came out for the Apple II computer. It was created by Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston. Working with formulas in columns and rows moved the table the accountant used to draw by hand onto the screen. Lotus 1-2-3. In January 1983 the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet came out for the IBM PC. It was created by the Lotus company, founded in 1982 by Mitch Kapor and Jonathan Sachs. The Computer History Museum calls it the first "killer app" for the IBM personal computer, that is, the program that was the main reason to buy the computer.

Have you heard the expression "to click the abacus"? Once this was an accountant's most basic job. Today, however, many young accountants have seen an abacus only in museums or old photographs. How did calculating tools change, and why were the old ones pushed aside?

Where did the abacus come from and how long was it used?

The ancestor of the abacus was the counting board: lines were drawn on a board and pebbles placed on them, and the position of a pebble indicated a number. According to Britannica, the abacus probably originated in Babylonia.

Later, different peoples created their own abacuses:

Type of abacus	Distinctive feature
Counting board (European merchants)	Counters were moved not along wires but along lines drawn on the surface
Chinese suanpan	2 beads above and 5 below on each rod
Japanese soroban	1 bead above and 4 below on each rod
Russian abacus (schoty)	No crossbar, usually ten beads per row (fewer on some rows for fractions)

In the territory of the former Soviet Union, including here, the Russian abacus was widely used in shops and offices. Researchers call it a distinctive phenomenon of Russian and Soviet accounting: the abacus remained a practical tool until the end of the 20th century. The Computer History Museum has a photograph taken at a Moscow market around 1970, showing sellers using the abacus side by side with more modern calculating devices.

What was the path from the arithmometer to the computer?

The arithmometer. The Frenchman Thomas de Colmar obtained a patent for the arithmometer in 1820. The Smithsonian museum describes such machines as among the first commercially successful calculating machines. According to an Oxford historian, however, they did not begin to spread widely before the late 1870s: for a long time after the invention the machine was little used.
The electronic calculator. In the early 1970s calculators moved from the desk into the pocket and became cheaper.
The first business computer. The British confectionery and teashop company J. Lyons built the LEO I computer. Its first business task was calculating the value of the ingredients that went into bread and cakes (Bakery Valuations). On 29–30 November 1951 this work was moved entirely to LEO, and later payroll was also put on it.
The spreadsheet. In 1979 VisiCalc came out for the Apple II computer. It was created by Dan Bricklin and Bob Frankston. Working with formulas in columns and rows moved the table the accountant used to draw by hand onto the screen.
Lotus 1-2-3. In January 1983 the Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet came out for the IBM PC. It was created by the Lotus company, founded in 1982 by Mitch Kapor and Jonathan Sachs. The Computer History Museum calls it the first "killer app" for the IBM personal computer, that is, the program that was the main reason to buy the computer.

The 1980s, the 2000s and today: how has the accountant's work changed?

The table below is a general picture of the periods (prepared by the author); the timing of the transition differed from company to company.

Aspect	1980s	2000s	Today
Main calculating tool	Abacus, arithmometer, electronic calculator; the personal computer just appearing	Personal computer and spreadsheet	Accounting software or an ERP system, cloud services
Where the records are	Paper journals, cards, statements	Accounting software on a computer, together with a paper copy	An electronic database; documents with an electronic digital signature
Primary document	Paper, by hand or on a typewriter	Prepared on a computer, printed on paper	Electronic document (electronic invoices among them)
Month-end close	Compiled by hand, many days of work	The software compiles, but data is entered by hand in many places	Many processes automatic; the accountant checks and analyses
Where the accountant's time goes	Calculating and copying	Data entry and reconciliation	Checking, analysis, advice

Why are the abacus and the simple calculator rarely used?

The reason is not simply that "the computer calculates faster". Both the abacus and the calculator only calculate, while a person copies the result into the ledger by hand. Accounting software calculates, records, stores and compiles into reports all at the same time.

Let us look at one example (prepared by the author, hypothetical figures). The "Nur savdo" shop has 300 receipt documents a month.

Stage	Abacus and paper ledger	Calculator and paper	Accounting software
Calculating the document amount	By hand, with the abacus	On the calculator	Automatic
Posting the record to the ledger	Written by hand	Written by hand	Automatic journal entry from the document
Month-end total	Counted again	Keyed in again	With one button
Risk of copying errors	Present at every copying	Present at every copying	No copying, less risk
Preparing reports	Several days	Several days	Several minutes

The main difference is in the second and fourth rows: the less a number is copied by hand from one place to another, the fewer the errors. That is why the abacus and the calculator did not disappear, but they stopped being the main tool.

At today's stage the document itself is digital too: an electronic invoice is confirmed with an electronic digital signature and goes straight into the buyer's software. Programs run in the cloud, letting the accountant log in from anywhere, and artificial intelligence is being tested to ease repetitive work. But one thing has not changed: assessing a transaction correctly and being answerable for it is still the accountant's responsibility.