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> Money can not be created out of thin air, and it can not be destroyed.

Yet accounting is necessary because money is created out of thin air. Money is just the representation of debt, an IOU. There needs to be a record of it in order to know that a debt was created and that a debt was destroyed.

More practically, let's say you give me corn today, and I promise to deliver some of the chickens fed that corn to you after it is ready to for slaughter. Money keeps track of the promise outstanding. We record that promise, or account for it if you will, so that we remember that there is a promise and so that we can later ensure that the promise was delivered upon as agreed. Something that becomes especially important when you realize that promises can be traded on to other people who weren't party to the initial deal. Perhaps you don't really want chicken, but would prefer a watch instead. Luckily the watch maker would like to eat chicken for dinner down the line, so you give him the promise of chicken in exchange for the watch. So on, and so on.

Realistically, double-entry accounting is really quadruple-entry accounting. You record that something was received and you record that a promise was made, then, later on, you record that something was delivered as promised and also record that the promise is no longer outstanding (or in reverse if you are on the opposite end of the transaction). A profit indicates that people still owe you things that you haven't collected upon. A loss indicates that you still owe people things that you haven't yet delivered.