Comment by kdmtctl

Money can't appear and disappear. There should be always a destination. It helps accounting a lot. If someone owes anyone, liabilities increases (active/passive accounts), but this liability is spent somehow, which could become an asset (Goods Purchased using a Loan), so you can track all the chain through account statements.

Destination is the key. You can't just arbitrarily change an account balance using a transaction in a ledger. There should be a destination and this the second record.

This what GAAP, IFRS and even all the Basels for banks describe in strict detail. But every accounting system and practice is based on double entry and not just keeps the balance sheet consistent but adds a meaning to every transaction using predefined types of accounts.