The field of accounting in the world is nearly 6,000 years old and the date of the first accounting documents discovered dates back to 3600 BC. In other words, accounting is a cognate of civilization and is as old as human civilization. However, academic accounting is over five hundred years old and began with the name Luca Pacioli (1495 AD).

Accounting, like any other fields of science, has undergone many changes during its turbulent life. One of the most important changes in accounting over the last five hundred years is the change in its theoretical nature. Academic accounting in the first four hundred years of its life has mainly had a technical approach.

During the first decades of the twentieth century, serious theoretical and philosophical discussions about the affiliation of accounting to one of the fields of human sciences have been prevalent. These controversies culminated in the allocation of accounting to one of the fields of science or technology or art. The increasing development of technology in industries and the transformation of production systems, the complexity and drastic changes of organizations and economic, commercial and industrial environments have placed serious responsibilities on accountants in the economic and social system of society.

The Importance of Accounting

Increasing competition in the international arena, new technologies and changes in the business process have made costs and the control thereof more dynamic and important than before. Managers demand a source of information to help them make better decisions, and accountants can be of great help in this regard with their knowledge of the latest scientific achievements in this field. They can play a key role in setting the company's strategy and achieving it.

Also, the capabilities of accountants in analyzing events, measuring and evaluating economic events, designing information systems, analytical and interpretive processes of financial evaluations and other areas of activity of managers make the need for this field of knowledge more urgent. In a situation where in all reputable companies in the world, the employment of management accountants is a necessity in the context of the companies’ daily experience and many managers owe their success to the use and employment of useful information and guidance of accounting and management accounting, this category has remained neglected in our country. Our organizations and firms are deprived of the achievements of this field and our financial experts are far from it.

When competition rules our business environments and the adoption of competitive strategies is the basis and guarantee of growth and sustainability of enterprises, undoubtedly, using the concepts of management accounting tools and techniques to make value-making decisions will be inevitable. Therefore, the introduction and promotion of accounting and management accounting in the scientific, economic and professional community of the country as a national hypothesis should be on the agenda of universities and reputable scientific and professional centers.

Accounting in Iran

The history of accounting in Iran goes back to the first civilizations established in this land, and the accounting documents discovered with 25 centuries of age testify to the development of this knowledge in ancient Iran. Iranians were world-renowned for their expertise in finance, computation, and accounting for centuries and as a result the financial and administrative system of the Byzantine Empire in the seventh century AD imitated the reforms done by Anoushirvan in the sixth century AD in the financial, economic, monetary and accounting system of Iran.

Some of the banking terms used today, such as the word "check", are old Persian terms borrowed by the West. In addition, the word " douanes" in French, which means "customs", is derived from the Persian word "divan" (Azmoun, 2006). During the Qajar period, a fundamental change took place in financial systems in Iran, culminating in the invitation of American advisors such as General Schwarzkopf in gendarmerie and, in particular, Morgan Schuster in finance. Morgan started a series of activities in the field of creating financial and tax systems.

The seeds of modern accounting and auditing was sown with the triumph of the Constitutional Revolution and the ratification of its constitutional law. The emergence of new concepts and tools of bookkeeping and accounting (mostly government-related) in Iran was a case of such a concern that was reflected in the laws of the country from the beginning. The first financial and economic laws are a relic of the second term of the National Assembly. The first direct mention of accounting and auditing in Iran was in the Circular of February 03, 1936 which for the first time spoke of terms such as balance sheet and debtor and creditor, which was the prelude to the tax laws of the following years. (Encyclopedia of Economics and Management, a study by Abdurassoul Rahimi)

Accounting at Khatam University

Accounting and Management Accounting Programs at Khatam University have been established to train interested applicants both theoretically and practically with the fundamentals of accounting and auditing. To ultimate goal has been to train capable managers in in various fields of decision-making and policy-making including CEOs, financial, industrial, and economic auditors and financial advisors.

Graduates of these academic programs will be able to formulate problems, identify relevant information for problem analysis, use different resources available in different parts of the organization in their analysis and identify sources of information outside the company for items such as sales volume of competitors and provide a proper terrain for policy-making and rational and dynamic decision-making in the issues the organization faces, and thus facilitate the achievement of goals and visions of the organization.

Moreover, the Auditing Program at Khatam University aims at educating and training skilled experts required by various economic entities, both public and private. The main goal is to educate and prepare experts in auditing to protect the interests of people and investors. Updating the applicants with the latest accounting and auditing standards and its latest changes, tax and trade laws, effective internal controls, risk assessment and management, and finally training and application of new techniques in auditing are among the main goals of this program.

Undoubtedly, the use of auditing concepts, tools and techniques to make value-making decisions will be inevitable. Therefore, the introduction and promotion of auditing in the scientific, economic and professional community of the country as a national task should be given priority on the agenda of universities and reputable scientific and professional centers, including Khatam University. Currently, the following fields and sub-fields are active at Khatam’s Department of Accounting and Auditing.

• Accounting – Bachelor and Master’s Degree;

• Auditing - Master's Degree;

• Management Accounting - Master's Degree;

• Accounting - PhD.