Take this accounting quiz: two lies, one truth

By Nigel Bowen

1. Accounting dates back to:

1. 3400-3000 BCE, when Kushim, a Sumerian of Mesopotamia and the world’s earliest-known accountant, signed off on an inventory of barley on a clay tablet
2. 814-146 BCE, when the Carthaginians invented the first known auditing system to assist with their extensive trade throughout the Mediterranean
3. 375-283 BCE, when Indian polymath Chanakya laid the groundwork for double‑entry bookkeeping, taxation and public finance

2. Luca Pacioli, the “father of modern accounting”, is also known for:

1. Collaborating with Michelangelo on the Sistine Chapel
2. Writing the world’s oldest book about magic tricks
3. Creating the world’s first known cipher device

3. Where and when was the world’s first “modern” stock exchange established?

1. London in 1571
2. Amsterdam in 1602
3. New York in 1792

4. Which Prime Minister introduced Britain’s first “modern” income tax, and why?

1. Sir Robert Peel, to address the budget deficit in 1842
2. Robert Banks Jenkinson, to raise more money for the Royal Navy in 1816
3. William Pitt the Younger, to help finance British involvement in the French Revolutionary War in 1799

5. Where and when was the world’s first professional accounting body founded?

1. England and Wales in 1852
2. Scotland in 1854
3. The US in 1887

6. What was the world’s first accounting software package for Windows PCs?

1. Open Systems Accounting Software
2. QuickBooks
3. Peachtree Accounting

7. The Sarbanes–Oxley Act of 2002 was introduced in the US to:

1. Prevent the kind of conflicts of interest that had caused late 20th century accounting and corporate scandals
2. Promote financial stability and protect consumers from abusive financial practices
3. Allow mergers between commercial and investment banks

8. The first purchase ever made using Bitcoin was for: 

1. A “Roomba” vacuuming device
2. Two pizzas
3. A pair of alpaca socks.