Richard Brooks Pořadí knih

The world's 'Big 4' accountancy firms - PwC, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, and KPMG - have become a gilded elite. Up in the high six figures, an average partner salary rivals that of a premier league footballer. But how has the seemingly humdrum profession of accountancy got to this level? And what is the price we pay for their triumph?Leading investigative journalist and former senior tax inspector Richard Brooks offers a ground-breaking exposé of the accountancy industry and its secret rise to vast global influence. Charting the profession's history from humble agrarian beginnings to its underappreciated role in the financial crash of 2008, Brooks explores how the industry hides behind its 'boring' image to ruthlessly exploit the financial system which depends on it. From underpinning global tax avoidance to corrupting world football, Beancounters reveals how the accountants use their central role in the economy to sell management consultancy services that send billions in other work its way - transforming the industry from one that ensures financial probity to one that reinvents the rules for its own benefit.

Osprey's Campaign title for the battle of Solferino (1859), which was the decisive action of the Franco-Austrian War. Fought near Lake Garda in northern Italy, it was the largest European battle since Leipzig in 1813 with over a quarter of a million combatants. In the presence of three crowned heads of state - Napoleon III of France, Emperor Franz-Joseph of Austria and Victor Emmanuel II of Piedmont-Sardinia (later the King of all Italy) - the armies clashed in a bitterly fought contest that would leave more than 40,000 dead and give the battle a reputation for savagery that would inspire not only the formation of the Red Cross, but also the first Geneva Convention. As a crucial climax to the Second Italian War of Independence, this title covers the build-up to the battle, including actions at Montebello, Palestro and Magenta that led to the decisive moment of the campaign. Full-color battlescene artwork and detailed maps illustrate this comprehensive account of the commanders, armies, plans and aftermath of one of the bloodiest battles of the period.