Change of essence, purpose and content of the accounting balance in the historical retrospective

The purpose of writing the article is to cover the history of changes in the balance sheet as a form of financial reporting; determining the nature, purpose and content of the balance in different periods of development of accounting science. In ancient times, the balance sheet was the main reporting document designed to meet the information needs of various users of reporting. The balance performed information and control functions. A more understandable concept of balance for the accountant was formed in the second half of the fifteenth century with the appearance of the work of Luca Pacioli «The sum of arithmetic, geometry, the doctrine of proportions and relations», namely the XI treatise of this book entitled «On Accounts and Records» (1494). According to translations of works of scientists of the XV-XVIII centuries, the balance sheet was an inventory of property in the asset, which was identical to the total amount of capital. During the XVIII-XIX centuries there were industrial revolutions, which influenced the method of accounting for all business transactions and the method of drawing up a balance sheet. In the scientific community, the controversy between supporters of static and dynamic balance continued. As for the content and purpose of the balance in Ukraine in the XX-XXI centuries, it is worth noting the period of socialist Ukraine as part of the Soviet Union and the period of independent Ukraine. The balance sheet has been, is and will be the main form of financial reporting. This is an important statement of the financial position of the enterprise, recorded as of a certain point in time, as determined by applicable law or the needs of business owners. The balance sheet drawn up on a certain date is static, but it is the result of dynamic processes occurring in the economic life of the enterprise. The smallest business transaction changes the state of balance sheet items. Dynamic changes in balance sheet items make it possible to analyze trends in enterprise development and predict economic growth or possible economic collapse of the business and make the necessary management decisions. These points in the future will necessitate changes in the structure of the balance sheet and the method of its compilation