I think this depends on what you consider to be the fundamental trait of double-entry accounting: the error-checking or the explanatory power.
It is true that by enforcing that value movement have both a source and a target, we make it possible to add a useful checksum to the system. But I believe this is a side benefit to the more fundamental trait of requiring all value flow to record both sides, in order to capture the cause for each effect.
I agree with your general perspective though: technology has afforded us new and different tools, and thus we should be open to new data models for accounting. I don't agree with other commenters that we should tread lightly in trying to decipher another field, nor do I agree with the view that the field of Accounting would have found a better way by now if there were one. Accountants are rarely, if ever, experts in CS or software engineering; likewise software developers rarely have depth in accounting.
Source: just my opinions. I've been running an accounting software startup for 5 years.
I agree with your first statement, but a little lost on the last one—I would think of the first idea as a question of data modeling, whereas the last (bad inputs) is one of enforcement and ownership.
Both present challenges, but better inputs don't help without a better model for business objects (as I see it)?
The practical purpose of information modelling is to prevent the bent coins from propagating. The end users will always create them -- to this day, they were trained on typewriters, and they think '1' and 'l' are the same. The point is to stop the malformed data before it gets where they can cause harm, either by blocking a data-transmission path or by being exploited by bad actors. The status quo is that each point of contact has its own validation rules and its own notion of how severe each kind of syntax error is. A worthwhile model unifies that end-to-end.
The problem with no-enforcement is that it allows selective enforcement. In NYC, if you are on Wall St and use hard-drugs, there is no enforcement. Yet with stop-and-frisk and entire generation of colored individuals in poorer neighborhoods got random stopped, frisked, and booked with criminal history for "possession" offenses.
The problem with no-enforcement is that it allows selective enforcement. In NYC, if you are on Wall St and use hard-drugs, there is no enforcement. Yet with stop-and-frisk and entire generation of colored individuals in poorer neighborhoods got random stopped, frisked, and booked with criminal history for "possession" offenses.
If it is really no-enforcement, best to codify it with a law and really make it legal.
It is executed though for people who are abusing the grace of the law. Throw a rager in the park and you will get a talking to. Drink with a couple people and not be disruptive and you won’t. How would you formalize that into law though?
I thought about that puzzle quite a bit. The edge cases can get quite lame.
The only answer I've found is that one should define the rules strictly enough for people to make sense of them in advance. They should either be easy to find in context or be few enough to learn.
The obligations seem:
1) Document the issue at hand accurately and keep it up to date.
2) Write out the laws in a strict way that leaves as little room for interpretation as possible and keep it up to date.
3) Make sure those affected know what the laws are wasting as little of their time, money and effort as possible.
We seem surprisingly incompetent at 3. We should also be able to make the variables dynamic so that the thing updates it self.
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Did he... link the wrong URL at the end of the post? I thought for sure it was going to be some sort of heartfelt speech, or motivational message, or something. But it's an instrumental DJ set which seems totally out of left field
> P.S. If you are chasing something you think you want or need, or are doubting whether you are enough, take a minute and give this a listen. It had a big impact on me at a pivotal time.
He shared something that helped him at a pivotal time. Your expectations are your own. :)
I remember listening to the theme song for "The Social Network" often when I was frustrated at work about 12 years ago in a different job in a different state in a different life.
Scala & Kolacny Brothers -- Creep
It's a haunting choral cover of the Radiohead song.
Glad to know there are other folks that found The Social Network soundtrack as impactful.
I have listened to Hand Cover Bruise first through university and hundreds of times since, often to calm my nerves before some of the biggest milestones of my life.
I was working at a dead-end IT job that was eating away at me because the company was a terrible fit, and I couldn't help but wonder if I could put my skills to better use than clearing paper jams and running mail merge reports. But the easy path was to just keep doing the same thing every day.
Don't live another day unless you make it count
There's someone else that you're supposed to be
There's something deep inside of you that still wants out
And shame on you if you don't set it free
And that was the day I quit.
That being said, I had the same reaction to the link at the bottom of that post; I recognize anything can be transformative to the right person at the right time, but I struggled to identify the message in an instrumental DJ set.
And the highlighted comment on that video (because it's got a lot of upvotes) is "Who's here because of Hindenburg?"...
I suppose all the research work, that comment, and the 750+ thumbs-ups, and my cynical meta-comment all brought value to the world. But I'm only sure of one of those things.
It's funny, because your comment made me go back and click the link. If it was some motivational speech, I wasn't interested (that's why I didn't click initially). But I actually listen to instrumental DJ sets and Cercle is one of my favorite YouTube channels. So thanks! :)
I was pretty amazed to see him link this particular Lee Burridge set from Bali. I’ve watched/listened to it many times over and it never fails to put me in a happier state of mind.
But if you're into it, Ben Boehmer in Cappadocia, The Blaze atop the Aguile Du Midi in the French Alps are a couple of the many gems in that same series of Cercle sets.
Cercle is a gift to the world. For anyone that didn't receive the gift yet - they're organizing great DJ sets in special locations. Multiple times I've put something to listen to, and found myself watching the whole show.
WorkOS pricing for B2B apps is untenable however. Same with Auth0. Is there any cost effective SaaS auth solution which allows multiple customer SSO integrations besides Microsoft Entra ID for External?
Agreed, Firebase is the worst. Google's impenetrable documentation, paired with frequent breaking changes, opaque pricing model (paired with asking for your card details but not letting you set a limit at which the app should turn off), trigger-happy product sunsetting, etc. etc. should be enough to turn anyone away.
And this isn't even getting started on how bad the DX is in general. I have found Pocketbase to be so much easier for basic auth (obviously it's too simplistic if you need major scale SSO solutions...)
Numeric | Software engineer (3+ YOE) | ONSITE in San Francisco, CA | https://www.numeric.io
We're building the platform to automate accounting and tackle the underlying data issues which plague accounting and finance departments. Customers like Plaid, Brex, Wealthfront, AngelList, Mercury, and more depend on Numeric to automate their work, to collaborate, and to monitor, analyze, and share insights on their financial data. We've raised $10M to date from excellent investors like Founders Fund, Menlo Ventures, and more.
We're a product-first company with technical founders and an engineering team whose past experiences include Brex, Segment, Carta, and more. This will be a fit if you're excited to understand your users and the domain, as well as to have substantial responsibility and impact. We work in person in our SF & NYC offices, and prioritize speed and ownership (both technical and product ownership). We're growing rapidly, we're well-funded, and building out our team to continue investing in ambitious product goals.
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Generally people have a recovery option (“Forgot Password”) which routes to the same email, meaning it’s effectively already a single point of failure.
But it’s generally a well-secured one (2fa, ip monitoring ). So in effect we’re not making it more of a single point of failure, we’re just removing the various other means of attack by removing site-specific identities (passwords)
Numeric | Software engineer (4+ YOE) | ONSITE in San Francisco, CA | https://www.numeric.io
We're building the platform to automate accounting and tackle the underlying data issues which plague accounting and finance departments. Customers like Plaid, Wealthfront, AngelList, Mercury, and more depend on Numeric to automate their work, to collaborate, and to monitor, analyze, and share insights on their financial data. We've raised $10M to date from excellent investors like Founders Fund, Menlo Ventures, and more.
We're a product-first company with technical founders and an engineering team whose past experiences include Brex, Segment, Carta, and more. This will be a fit if you're excited to understand your users and the domain, as well as to have substantial responsibility and impact. We work in person in our SF & NYC offices, and prioritize speed and ownership (both technical and product ownership). We're growing rapidly, we're well-funded, and building out our team to continue investing in ambitious product goals.
Product-oriented engineers appreciated, bonus points for startup experience and/or full-stack experience with Typescript. >=3 YOE.
Apply: Email andrew@numeric.io (mention hackernews in subject)
Numeric | Software engineer (4+ YOE) | ONSITE in San Francisco, CA or NYC, NY | https://www.numeric.io
We're building the platform to automate accounting and tackle the underlying data issues which plague accounting and finance departments. Customers like Wealthfront, AngelList, Mercury, and more depend on Numeric to automate their work, to collaborate, and to monitor, analyze, and share insights on their financial data.
We're a product-first company with technical founders and an engineering team whose past experiences include Brex, Segment, Carta, and more. This will be a fit if you're excited to understand your users and the domain, as well as to have substantial responsibility and impact. We work in person in our SF & NYC offices, and prioritize speed and ownership. We're growing rapidly, we're well-funded, and building out our team to continue investing in ambitious product goals.
Product-oriented engineers appreciated, bonus points for startup experience and/or full-stack experience with Typescript. 4+ YOE.
Apply: Email andrew@numeric.io (mention hackernews in subject)
It is true that by enforcing that value movement have both a source and a target, we make it possible to add a useful checksum to the system. But I believe this is a side benefit to the more fundamental trait of requiring all value flow to record both sides, in order to capture the cause for each effect.
I agree with your general perspective though: technology has afforded us new and different tools, and thus we should be open to new data models for accounting. I don't agree with other commenters that we should tread lightly in trying to decipher another field, nor do I agree with the view that the field of Accounting would have found a better way by now if there were one. Accountants are rarely, if ever, experts in CS or software engineering; likewise software developers rarely have depth in accounting.
Source: just my opinions. I've been running an accounting software startup for 5 years.