The Reckoning: Financial Accountability and the Rise and Fall of Nations

In his recent book, The Reckoning: Financial Accountability and the Rise and Fall of Nations, Jacob Soll recounts the development and adoption of financial accounting. The practice was first adopted by merchants, traders, and ambitious political leaders. Actors from these groups had great incentive to adopt these practices, assuming they correctly perceived the costs and benefits of adoption. The earliest adopters appear to have been wildly successful. 

Read more at Cambridge.org.