Zero. Nada. Zip. Zilch.

No matter what you call it, Zero is a magical number. First of all, how many words do you know of that start with the letter "Z"? Three of them refer to a quantity of nothing. 

For an accountant, a zero sum is proof that our work is done properly.  Try explaining that to a client.  "Yes sir, I have completed the work, and as a result of my valient efforts over the course of three weeks, your Trial Balance now equals zero."  Part of the beauty of accounting is that you are always able to see if you are in balance by looking for that zero.  Imagine if we could apply a similar test to all aspects of our life.