Museum

Accounting Profession Museum

“Accountancy is the most universal science on Earth”, extract

from the Encyclopaedic Dictionary, Scientific Publication, Bucharest, 1984

 

                       

 

The Body of Expert and Licensed Accountants of Romania is the organization which manages the accounting profession at national level and represents it in all worldwide structures. The remarkable history of the Body has always been a diachronic and synchronic study of different problems concerning the accounting field in Romania. Each activity segment of the accounting profession is strongly connected in the last century through the efforts of those which have been the foundation of the profession, have fought for its unity and continuity, regardless of the economic and politic background. 

One of CECCAR’s objectives was achieved by gathering a number of objects – documents, specific instruments, photo-documents, written testimonies, evidence of key-moments in the existence of CECCAR – inside the Accounting Profession Museum from Romanian. 

                                            

The successful initiative of the Body, the project for creating the museum, has been developed and became real since last year with the support of the present leadership of the Body, which became directly involved in completing this ambitious project not only regarding the collection of objectives but as well as the design of the area according to the requirements specific for a museum. The museum project was born as a natural consequence of objects, documents, testimonies, studies and large collection being storage and carefully kept to become museum unit. 

Therefore, due to the contribution of professionals from all over the country, teaching staff in this domain, administrative staff from the headquarter, we can now talk about the Accounting Profession Museum from Romania, a place designed to learn about the past which involves a permanent commitment for the present, through the accomplishments and testimonies of its efforts.     

Located in the 3rd District of the capital city, on no. 35 Mircea Vodă Street, the Accounting Profession Museum includes an inventory of approximately 300 restored objects, among which there are 150 scientific works, 20 calculating machines, 5 valuable medals and dozens of documents and recovered documents.

The designing efforts determined special costs but also a lot of passion, due to the fact that the place was changed in a short period of time, in only a couple of months it became a welcoming place for any visitor, adequate to protect the exhibits, some of which are very old.  

Having a chronological placement of the items, the Museum aims to present a rich history, starting from the first proofs of Romanian accounting activities until the current ample works. The visitor can be persuaded that from the abacus and tally or the rudimentary stones which were used in the most ancient times for the first calculus and until the sophisticated computers used nowadays, the journey taken in different ages of accountancy is passionate and filled with information. The Body of Expert and Licensed Accountants of Romania represents the history of this profession and the professionals’ desire, reunited for the first time in 1921 under the noble initiative of Grigore Trancu-Iaşi, to practice according to the professional principles of science, independence and morality, historical evidences which can be admired in the documents and photo-documents collection of the Body.

Together with invoices, receipts, registers, schedules, and financial reports, there are important professional works that illustrate the concerns for accounting studies since the oldest times, as well as the most recent publications in this field, highlighting the continuity of the universal character in the accounting field and the Body’s continuous involvement regarding its development.  

The restored and exhibited cards of members’ shows the profession in different political and economic periods, its unity in difficult times until 1992 when it regained its professional rights, including the independence.   

In the patrimony of CECCAR library can be found valuable works on the museum’s shelves, rare collections, first editions or recoveries from personal collections due to the extraordinary generosity of well-known or anonymous professional accountants:  “Commercial and Accounting Course”, V. M. Ioachim, PhD – Royal Courts Typography – 1927; “Non-cash Payments”, Ştefan I. Demetrescu – The Romanian Book – 1931; “Public Accounting Course” – Prof. G. Alesseanu; “Fundamental aspects of General Forestry Economy ” – Ilie C. Demetrescu, PhD – Forestry Progress Society   Publishing House – 1942, “The study of commercial and industrial enterprises” – Virgil N. Madgearu – 1944; “Accounting expertise” – 1986, “The book of the manager” – 1972, “Accounting Principles” – 1973, as well as others.

The Accounting Profession Museum from Romania is a project for professional accountants, future expert accountants, students and pupils from economic educational institutions but also for any visitor keen on knowledge.

This project is the result of CECCAR’s efforts – The Body of Expert and Licensed Accountants of Romania, of years of careful documentation, collection and preservation of items belonging to the field. The results of collecting and preserving them in the national patrimony of the accounting science from Romania can be appreciated after visiting the Accounting Profession Museum from Romania.