Bean Counters

✍️ By Richard Brooks

In Bean Counters, investigative journalist Richard Brooks takes readers deep inside the world of accounting — exposing how a profession once built on integrity and transparency became a powerful force shaping, and at times distorting, the global economy. With sharp analysis and gripping storytelling, Brooks reveals how the Big Four accounting firms gained unprecedented influence over governments, corporations, and financial systems—often at the expense of public interest. From tax avoidance scandals to corporate collapses, Bean Counters uncovers the critical yet often unseen role accountants have played in some of the biggest economic failures of our time. This is a must-read for anyone who wants to understand how capitalism has been reshaped behind the scenes—and why it matters more than ever to hold the numbers, and the people behind them, accountable.