Newton's Law of Bookkeeping

This is how science and accounting blend together.

Newton’s Law of Motion III.

“For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.”

Double Entry Bookkeeping System:

“For every transaction that happens, there are two effects, one opposing the other, debit and credit.”

According to Newton, whenever objects A and B interact with each other, they exert forces upon each other. When you sit in your chair, your body exerts a downward force on the chair and the chair exerts an upward force on your body. There are two forces resulting from this interaction - a force on the chair and a force on your body. These two forces are called action and reaction forces and are the subject of Newton's third law of motion. ~ The Physics Classroom

F­_A = F_B

The double entry bookkeeping system is the basis of all the transactions that takes place in the world. It is the very foundation of the accounting system which helps to run the business of the world. The economy of the world depends upon it. The very basic concept of double entry book keeping seems to be inspired from the Newton’s third law of motion.

In double-entry accounting system, two accounting entries are required to record each financial transaction. These entries may occur in asset, liability, income, expense, or capital accounts. Recording of a debit amount to one or more accounts and an equal credit amount to one or more accounts results in total debits being equal to total credits for all accounts in the general ledger. ~ Wikipedia. Here, the action may be debit entry and the reaction may be the credit entry. They oppose each other with equal opposite force, making the accounting possible. The sum total of both the sides must be equal for correct entry. Like in law of motion, if chair gives more force in return, we’ll be bounced and if the body gives more force, the chair will crack. In the same way if any one side of accounting (debit or credit) is larger, it creates huge problem to organization; sometimes leading to death or bankruptcy.

Debit = Credit