How the Blockchain Could Stop Firms Cooking the Books

[TampaAnimusVortex]

Enron, WorldCom, Lehman Brothers and Saytam are all dark moments in corporate history. One way or another, they all cooked the books to hide their true financial position, at the expense of investors, customers, and sometimes, the tax payer. Could the blockchain be used to stop corporate fraud?

It’s unlikely that large organizations would begin trading entirely in bitcoin, but some believe that distributed ledgers could be used to 'bake' verified transactions directly into a company’s accounts, even if those transactions are conducted in fiat currency.

Charles Hoskinson, former CEO of Ethereum, believes that accounting is one of the next big opportunities for the blockchain.

Hoskinson said:

“With blockchains, you have transaction histories back to the beginning. If you can internalise it and merge with GAAP [generally accepted accounting principles] then every single penny could be accounted for by this incorruptible entity.”

http://www.coindesk.com/how-the-blockchain-could-stop-firms-cooking-the-books/

[GeorgeGist]

1. Hilarious.