What does the Bernoulli curve on the coat of arms of accountants mean?

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

We know that cities, states, dynasties, military units have coats of arms. Did you know that some professions also have heraldic symbols? Not all of them, of course, are clear and unambiguous at first sight. For example, what does the Bernoulli curve on the coat of arms of accountants mean? Let's find out!

Accounting coat of arms

The author of this heraldic symbol was the Frenchman J.-B. Dumarchais. The scientist was one of the famous representatives of accounting science. He presented his creation to the public in 1944. Then the World Academy of Accountants recognized the sign as a symbol of all representatives of this scrupulous accounting profession.

The coat of arms itself consists of three objects - the Bernoulli curve, the sun and the scales. These items, as you can see in the photo, are covered by the motto SCIENCE-CONSCIENCE-INDEPENDANCE (French) It means "Science - Conscience - Independence".

Curiously, the words SCIENCE-CONSCIENCE-INDEPENDANCE are translated the same way from French and from English. But some interpret the motto differently. Note that CONSCIENCE from French into Russian can also be translated as"good faith", "consciousness", "trust".

Meaning of symbols

Let's move on to the items on the coat of arms and, in particular, to the Bernoulli curve:

• Sun - accounting. Like our luminary, it illuminates economic activity. Coverage of all areas of the organization.
• The scales in this case represent balance.
• Bernoulli curve - having arisen once, accounting will always exist.

The author himself, Jean-Baptiste Dumarche, interpreted these symbols in a slightly different way:

• The sun - openness, transparency of the financial and economic activities of the subject.
• Scales - the balance of finances with a properly functioning accounting system.
• Bernoulli curve - inviolability and eternity of accounting.

But the accountants themselves came up with a slightly different, ironic interpretation of both the symbols of the coat of arms and its motto. Want to see it from the inside? Read more!

What does the Bernoulli curve mean?

The most mysterious symbol of the entire coat of arms. The logarithmic Bernoulli curve in the memory of many is the sign of infinity, the inverted figure eight. If we remember mathematics, we will come to the conclusion that this symbol is also similar to the Archimedean spiral. So why the Bernoulli curve? Accountants joke that the graph was not depicted in full on the coat of arms, because it reminds a lot of handcuffs.

According to an alternative view, the Bernoulli curve is a symbol of confusion, chicanery, conscious complexity. It is incomprehensible to the viewer, as well asto an uninitiated person, the whole accounting science. Accountants with a sense of humor emphasize the word "curve". And not straight, which would mean uncompromising, straightforward, the right way.

Let's do a little research on this mysterious symbol. Dumarchais attributes its authorship to the mathematician Jacob Bernoulli. If we study his works, we will notice only one curve among them. It is called Bernoulli's Lemniscate and graphically represents the well-known symbol of infinity.

Some researchers also find the scientist's brother - Johann Bernoulli. The curve is also mentioned in his writings. However, it is called the graph (curve) of Brachistochrone and visually does not look at all like the sign of the accounting coat of arms. More it resembles a deep saucer in profile.

So what is a Bernoulli curve? Most likely, this is one of the special cases of the logarithmic spiral, called the Fibonacci spiral. For accounting, the name of this scientist is also important, because it was he who contributed to the spread of Arabic numerals and the decimal number system, without which it is difficult to imagine modern accounting.

And what does Jacob Bernoulli have to do with it then? He studied the Fibonacci spiral. Moreover, it is known that the scientist called it Spira mirabilis. From Latin - "amazing spiral". Perhaps this was enough for Dumarchais to name the graph in his creation the Bernoulli curve.

What does the sun mean?

Witty accountants have long counted the sun on their coat of armslantern symbol. So in professional slang they call both gross errors in calculations and front organizations. Hence, "hang up the lantern" - to rig the results in the report in the hope that the error will be invisible. And the sun is a luminary that will overshadow the eyes of the inspectors so that they do not see the accountant's miscalculations.

Also, some believe that the emblem depicts not the closest star to us, but a dazzlingly sparkling gold coin. After all, sunlight is visually white, not yellow, as in the emblem.

What does the scale mean?

But the scales are perceived not as a symbol of balance, but as an attribute of the goddess of justice Themis, depicted blindfolded. And what can this mean? If a mistake is made in the work, the fate of an accountant may well be on these scales!

Some members of the profession joke that while Themis is blindfolded, the accounting department can sleep peacefully.

What does the background color mean?

The original color of the background is green. In the modern version, you can also find blue colors. Green, on the other hand, is associated with currency (hence, in the recent past, dollars were called "greens"). In addition, it is this color that the cloth on the card game table has. And gambling is always about money, cash.

Green - banknotes - finance - accounting. A very clear logical chain is emerging.

What does the shape of the coat of arms mean?

Today, the round form of the heraldic accounting symbol is common. However, let us draw your attention to the fact that originally it was still oval. The shape looked like "0". Namely, this figure is a symbol of sustainability.

There are jokes among employees about this too - just push the zero in the coat of arms a little, that's a loss of balance, an exposure of instability.

Alternative interpretation of the motto

Accountants today criticize their slogan:

• Instead of "science" note the fitting of results.
• Instead of "independence" - activities in the interests of the governing bodies.
• Instead of "conscience" there is a skillful disguise of ignoble activities.

The Bernoulli curve in the coat of arms of an accountant is one of the most mysterious symbols. Indeed, in fact, this logarithmic graph looks quite different. The representatives of the counting profession themselves, both about the curve and about other symbols of their coat of arms, came up with their own original interpretations. You should not take professional humor seriously and assume that an accountant is an employee who covers up fraudulent machinations, easily veils his own mistakes. The ironic interpretation of the coat of arms is just a wonderful ability to laugh at oneself.