Accountancy, or accounting, is the production of financial records about an organization. Accountancy generally produces financial statements that show in money terms the economic resources under the control of management; selecting information that is relevant and representing it faithfully. Accountancy overlaps heavily with bookkeeping, auditing and taxation.
Many laborious practices have been simplified with the help of computer software. Enterprise resource planning (ERP) software provides a comprehensive, centralized, integrated source of information that companies can use to manage all major business processes, from purchasing to manufacturing to human resources. This software can replace up to 200 individual software programs that were previously used. Computer integrated manufacturing allows products to be made and completely untouched by human hands and can increase production by having less errors in the manufacturing process. Computers have reduced the cost of accumulating, storing, and reporting managerial accounting information and have made it possible to produce a more detailed account of all data that is entered into any given system. Computers have changed business to business interaction through e-commerce. Rather than dealing with multiple companies to purchase products a business can purchase a product at a less expensive price and take out the third party and vastly reduces expenses companies once accrued. Inter-organizational information system enable suppliers and businesses to be connected at all times. When a company is low on a product the supplier will be notified and fulfill an order immediately which eliminates the need for someone to do inventory, fill out the proper documents, send them out and wait for their products. 
Accounting is thousands of years old. Accounting records, which date back more than 7,000 years, were found in Mesopotamia (Assyrians). The people of that time relied on primitive accounting methods to record the growth of crops and herds. Accounting evolved, improving over the years and advancing as business advanced.
Early accounts served mainly to assist the memory of the businessperson and the audience for the account was the proprietor or record keeper alone. Cruder forms of accounting were inadequate for the problems created by a business entity involving multiple investors, so double-entry bookkeeping first emerged in northern Italy in the 14th century, where trading ventures began to require more capital than a single individual was able to invest. The development of joint-stock companies created wider audiences for accounts, as investors without firsthand knowledge of their operations relied on accounts to provide the requisite information. This development resulted in a split of accounting systems for internal (i.e. management accounting) and external (i.e. financial accounting) purposes, and subsequently also in accounting and disclosure regulations and a growing need for independent attestation of external accounts by auditors.
Today, accounting is called "the language of business" because it is the vehicle for reporting financial information about a business entity to many different groups of people. Accounting that concentrates on reporting to people inside the business entity is called management accounting and is used to provide information to employees, managers, owner-managers and auditors. Management accounting is concerned primarily with providing a basis for making management or operating decisions. Accounting that provides information to people outside the business entity is called financial accounting and provides information to present and potential shareholders, creditors such as banks or vendors, financial analysts, economists, and government agencies. Because these users have different needs, the presentation of financial accounts is very structured and subject to many more rules than management accounting. The body of rules that governs financial accounting in a given jurisdiction is called Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, or GAAP. Other rules include International Financial Reporting Standards, or IFRS, or US GAAP.
Uhasibu, au uhasibu, ni uzalishaji wa rekodi za kifedha kuhusu shirika. Kwa ujumla, uhasibu hutengeneza taarifa za kifedha ambazo zinaonyesha katika maneno ya pesa rasilimali za kiuchumi chini ya udhibiti wa usimamizi, kuchagua habari zinazohusiana na kuwakilisha kwa uaminifu. Uhasibu unalingana sana na uhasibu, ukaguzi na ushuru. Mazoea mengi yenye kuchosha yamekuwa sahili kwa msaada wa programu za kompyuta. Programu ya ERP hutoa chanzo kamili, cha kati, cha habari ambayo kampuni zinaweza kutumia kusimamia michakato yote kuu ya biashara, kutoka ununuzi hadi utengenezaji hadi rasilimali za binadamu. Programu hii inaweza kuchukua nafasi ya programu 200 za kibinafsi ambazo zilikuwa zinatumiwa hapo awali. Utaratibu wa utengenezaji wa kompyuta unaruhusu bidhaa kutengenezwa bila kuguswa kabisa na mikono ya binadamu na inaweza kuongeza uzalishaji kwa kuwa na makosa machache katika mchakato wa utengenezaji. Kompyuta zimepunguza gharama za kukusanya, kuhifadhi, na kuripoti habari za uhasibu wa usimamizi na zimefanya iwezekane kutoa akaunti ya kina zaidi ya data zote zinazoingia katika mfumo wowote. Kompyuta zimebadilisha biashara kwa mwingiliano wa biashara kupitia e-biashara. Badala ya kushughulika na makampuni mengi kununua bidhaa, biashara inaweza kununua bidhaa kwa bei ya chini na kuchukua nje ya chama cha tatu na kupunguza sana gharama kampuni mara moja accrued. Mfumo wa habari wa kati ya mashirika huwezesha wauzaji na biashara kuunganishwa wakati wote. Wakati kampuni ni chini juu ya bidhaa, muuzaji itakuwa alitangaza na kutimiza agizo mara moja ambayo huondoa haja ya mtu kufanya hesabu, kujaza nyaraka sahihi, kutuma yao nje na kusubiri kwa ajili ya bidhaa zao. Uhasibu ni wa maelfu ya miaka. Hati za uhasibu za kale za kale za Mesopotamia (Washuri) Watu wa wakati huo walitegemea mbinu za kale za uhasibu ili kurekodi ukuzi wa mazao na mifugo. Uhasibu ulibadilika, ukiboresha kwa miaka mingi na kusonga mbele kadiri biashara ilivyokua. Akaunti za mapema zilitumika hasa kusaidia kumbukumbu ya mfanyabiashara na watazamaji wa akaunti walikuwa mmiliki au mwhifadhi wa rekodi peke yake. Kwa sababu ya matatizo ya biashara ya kuingiza wawekezaji wengi, uhasibu wa mara mbili ulianza kutokea kaskazini mwa Italia katika karne ya 14, ambapo biashara ilianza kuhitaji mtaji zaidi kuliko mtu mmoja angeweza kuwekeza. Maendeleo ya kampuni za hisa iliunda watazamaji wakubwa kwa akaunti, kwani wawekezaji bila ujuzi wa kwanza wa shughuli zao walitegemea akaunti kutoa habari zinazohitajika. Maendeleo haya yalisababisha mgawanyiko wa mifumo ya uhasibu kwa ndani (yaani. Usimamizi wa uhasibu (Usimamizi wa Uhasibu) na uhasibu wa nje (Usimamizi wa Uhasibu) Kwa mujibu wa sheria za uhasibu, na kwa mujibu wa sheria za uhasibu na ufunuaji, ni muhimu kwamba uhasibu wa nje wa uhasibu wa uhasibu wa uhasibu wa uhasibu wa uhasibu wa uhasibu wa uhasibu wa uhasibu wa uhasibu. Leo, uhasibu unaitwa "lugha ya biashara" kwa sababu ni chombo cha kuripoti habari za kifedha kuhusu shirika la biashara kwa vikundi vingi tofauti vya watu. Uhasibu unaozingatia kuripoti kwa watu ndani ya shirika la biashara huitwa uhasibu wa usimamizi na hutumiwa kutoa habari kwa wafanyikazi, wasimamizi, wamiliki, wasimamizi na wakaguzi. Uhasibu wa usimamizi unahusika hasa na kutoa msingi wa kufanya maamuzi ya usimamizi au uendeshaji. Uhasibu ambao hutoa habari kwa watu nje ya shirika la biashara huitwa uhasibu wa kifedha na hutoa habari kwa wanahisa wa sasa na wa uwezekano, wakopeshaji kama vile benki au wauzaji, wachambuzi wa kifedha, wachumi, na mashirika ya serikali. Kwa sababu watumiaji hawa wana mahitaji tofauti, uwasilishaji wa akaunti za kifedha ni muundo sana na chini ya sheria nyingi zaidi kuliko uhasibu wa usimamizi. Sheria zinazohusu uhasibu wa kifedha katika mamlaka fulani huitwa kanuni za uhasibu zinazokubaliwa kwa ujumla (GAAP). Mfumo huu unajumuisha viwango vya kimataifa vya ripoti za kifedha (IFRS) na kanuni za GAAP.