Subject This article deals with the procedure issues of formation of the balance sheet in Chapter 34 of the Summa de arithmetica, geometria. Proportioni et proportionalita (The Treatise on Accounts and Records) by Luca Pacioli. The article also discusses the existence of logical paradoxes in accounting, which hinder the creation of a consistent accounting theory and cause the need for metatheoretical studies. Objectives The article intends to justify the structure of the metatheory of accounting as a formal-axiomatic theory. Methods For the study, I used the axiomatic method, deduction and complete induction principles, comparison, and logical extension. Results The article shows that in the structure of modern accounting, there is at least one logical paradox, namely the Balance Account, which is essential for the theory and methodology of accounting. Logical paradoxes in any discipline do not allow creating a valuable and consistent theory, though they do not influence the practice of this discipline. Conclusions The metatheory of accounting should be based on the model of metamathematics, as a formal-axiomatic theory, which has its own system of axioms, rules of inference, formal language, and the rules of formal language use.
Keywords: accounting, methodology, theory, history, metatheory of accounting, structure of metatheory
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