The Accounting Paradox: How financial accounting is damaging the world (but can help repair it)

In today's ecological, social and biodiversity crises, accounting rarely makes the list.

But it should.

Our system of accounting standards and regulation defines how profit is calculated. Some costs are included; others are excluded and left to society. Unless we re-examine this system, which has long operated beneath public awareness, capital markets will continue to fuel inequality, nature loss, and climate breakdown. We already have in place everything we need for a more just and complete approach to accounting, and forward-thinking businesses are beginning to recognize that.

This book is a detective story, a history and a manifesto for change. But it is also deeply human. Changing the way we account could unlock what’s best in us: our creativity, kindness, and ability to build a future worth living in.

Jeremy Nicholls — accountant, sustainability professional and activist — offers a radical but practical vision for new accounting. One we can start using now.