OUT NOW: The Accounting Paradox by SVI Co-Founder Jeremy Nicholls
In today’s ecological, social, and biodiversity crises, accounting rarely makes the list of causes and solutions - but it should.
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In his new book, Jeremy Nicholls - Co-Founder of SVI - argues that accounting is the source code of our economic system and the root cause of today’s global challenges.
The Accounting Paradox, published 24th March 2026, looks at the system of accounting standards and regulation, which defines how profit is calculated. Some costs are included in a company’s accounts; others are excluded but picked up by society. Until this changes, capital markets will continue to invest in businesses that may make profits, but fuel inequality, nature loss and climate breakdown.
If this were recognised, a relatively small change to the accounting system is all that is needed. Accounting standards already allow these costs to be included in the calculation of profit, the system just needs to reflect a wider public interest. Jeremy shows how this simple change can help repair the crises of today’s world.
The Accounting Paradox is a detective story, a history and a manifesto for change. But it is also deeply human. Changing the way accounting is practiced could unlock what is best in humanity: our creativity, our kindness and our ability to build a future we all want to live for.
“The course correct we need for the twenty- first century.”
Jeremy Nicholls has spent his career challenging how we account for value. He trained and worked with PwC, spending time living and working in both Liberia and Tanzania. He went on to co-found and lead Social Value International, a global community of social accountants, before contributing to the United Nations Development Programme’s SDG Impact Standards. Jeremy is an Ashoka Fellow, an honorary senior fellow at the University of Liverpool, and remains involved with other organizations and initiatives focused on the intersection between accounting and sustainability.