In order to thrive, first we need to fix accounting and management Then, we must report what matters

This paper examines the role of accounting through the information it provides to stakeholders, as well as the role of accounting in the development of our society. Accounting is vital for society, it is the main tool used to run businesses and state institutions, companies are decisive for defining culture, and culture is the basis of a developed society. Societies rely on its institutions, and the solution for a better world is found in the usage of reliable and independent data. It is well known the fact that subjective management decisions based on creative accounting led to big crises with negative consequences for all. Accounting has been used as the main tool to assess performance, but in order to be even more useful for society, the accounting system needs to modernize and unite, be transparent and totally independent from management. And it should be even more connected to the business model and responsive to the needs of society, in order to be able to provide valuable, comparable and useful information for all parties involved. The paper advocates for independent and forward-looking accounting, by giving up the flexibility, creativity and influence of managers, for decisions based on detailed and concrete information, transferred and consolidated in real time with the help of technology. Now accounting has the capacity to control the business and bring value to society through real-time and high-quality business reporting.