From Quipus to AI

On Accountant’s Day, a look from its roots to the digital era

Every September 11, Peru celebrates Public Accountant’s Day, commemorating the enactment of Law No. 13253 in 1959, which officially recognized accounting as a regulated technical profession. This date marked the formal start of an evolution that has taken Peruvian accountants from ancestral record-keeping systems to today’s more sophisticated digital environments.

Long before the arrival of writing to our continent, the Inca Empire developed the quipus, a system of cords and knots that allowed recording numerical information with outstanding accuracy. The quipucamayoc, specialists trained to read them, managed censuses, taxes, harvests, and stored goods. This tool, which was based on the decimal system, is considered as the most advanced accounting method of pre-Columbian America. Even though other cultures, such as the Aztecs and Mayans, used pictographic codices to record taxes and events, none of them matched the versatility, portability, and precision of the quipus.

With the arrival of the Spanish colonial viceroyalty came record-keeping systems that included the concept of double-entry bookkeeping. Later, in the 20th century, the introduction of computers led to the accelerated transformation that is taking us to the digital world of accounting.

Today, in the 21st century, the role of accountants in Peru is set to become strategic and highly digitalized. The automation of accounting processes, the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and ERP tools are rapidly reshaping the profession. Accountants today hardly record any transactions; instead, they interpret data, manage risks, and participate in decision-making. To thrive in this context, their core skills must include:
 

  • Mastery of digital tools
  • Critical and strategic thinking
  • Adaptability to technological change
  • Professional ethics in virtual environments


In addition, the growth of accounting outsourcing, the integration of services such as treasury, invoicing, and tax compliance through digital platforms, and cybersecurity are redefining the professional profile of accountants.

Accounting humor in the age of AI

  1. How do you call an accountant who never makes mistakes? — An accountant with AI… until the server crashes.
  2. Why did the accountant stop using Excel? — Because their new AI corrects even the mistakes they haven’t made yet.
  3. What does an accountant do when the accounting system updates itself? — They make themselves a cup of coffee… since there’s nothing left to do.
  4. Alexa, send the financial statements to SUNAT! - I’m sorry, I’m not a Certified Public Accountant.

 

HAPPY ACCOUNTANT’S DAY TO ALL!
Note: This article was prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence.


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