Accounting practices have remained largely unchanged for centuries, leading to confusion around software development for financial systems. In this post, I’ll share insights from working on financial systems at major tech companies. Covering basic financial definitions, high-level goals, engineering principles, and best practices, it’s crucial for accounting systems to be accurate, auditable, and timely. Avoiding pitfalls like using integers over floats, consistent rounding, and delaying currency conversions can prevent costly errors. The post also emphasizes principles like immutability, durability, granularity, and idempotency to ensure the integrity of financial records. Feel free to engage in discussions and explore further resources on accounting for software engineers.
https://substack.wasteman.codes/p/engineering-principles-and-best-practices