As far back as 4000 B.C., historians believe, formal record-keeping systems were first instituted by organized businesses and governments in the Near East to allay their concerns about correctly accounting for receipts and disbursements and collecting taxes. Similar developments occurred with respect to the Zhao dynasty in China (1122-256 B.C.). The need for and indications of audits can be traced back to public finance systems in Babylonia, Greece, the Roman Empire, the City States of Italy, etc., all of which developed a detailed system of checks and counterchecks. Specifically, these governments were worried about incompetent officials prone to making bookkeeping errors and inaccuracies as well as corrupt officials who were motivated to perpetrate fraud whenever the opportunity arose. Even the Bible (referring to the period between 1800 B.C. and A.D. 95) explains the basic rationale for instituting controls rather straightforwardly: “…if employees have an opportunity to steal they may take advantage of it.” The Bible also contains examples of good internal control practices, such as dual custody of assets, restriction of access to assets, and segregation of duties, as well as examples of the need for competent and honest employees. Historically then, the emergence of double-entry bookkeeping in circa 1494 A.D. can be directly traced to the critical need for exercising stewardship and control. Throughout European history, for instance, fraud cases — such as the South Sea bubble of the 18th century, and the tulip scandal — provided the justification for exercising more control over managers.

S. Ramamoorti. Internal auditing: history, evolution, and prospects. p. 3. Internet: <https://na.theiia.org> (adapted).

According to the text above, judge the following item.