- Ledger Lowdown
- Posts
- The World’s First Spreadsheet Was a Mountain
The World’s First Spreadsheet Was a Mountain
just added the borders
I share the 4-5 most important accounting that actually matter. I scroll so you don’t have to.
So grab your coffee, take a quick break, and lets catch up.
In this issue:
The mountain that might be the world’s first spreadsheet
Why firms are quietly panicking about AI
Fast food got so expensive people went back to Chili’s
- Ledger Lowdown Team
WTF of the Day🤯
5,000 Holes In A Mountain Might Be The World’s Oldest Spreadsheet
Think of it like a giant outdoor counting board.
Thousands of years ago in Peru, people carved about 5,200 holes into a mountainside. The holes are arranged in rows and sections, almost like a grid.
Researchers think people used them to track goods and trade.
Here’s a simple way to picture it:
A trader brings 20 baskets of corn
They place something (corn, stones, markers, or baskets) into 20 holes
Another trader brings 10 bundles of reeds and fills 10 holes
Now everyone can visually see the totals
So the holes act like physical numbers.
Later, the Inca may have used the same system for taxes and labor tracking. For example:
50 holes filled = 50 units of grain owed
30 holes filled = 30 days of labor completed
The cool part is that the pattern of holes matches how the Inca used khipus, which were knotted ropes used for accounting. Both systems grouped numbers in organized sections.
So the mountain might have been a massive public ledger where people could count, compare, and record goods without writing anything down.
Source: Earth.com
What’s poppin in accounting🍿
Firms Are Rushing Into AI With Zero Rules
Everyone wants AI right now. Automating invoices. Summarizing reports. Doing the boring accounting work.
But here’s the problem. Most firms jumped in without any rules.
About 1 in 5 businesses using AI has zero governance in place. No policies. No guardrails. Nothing stopping employees from dumping sensitive client data into random AI tools.
That’s a lawsuit waiting to happen.
The fix is boring but necessary. Set rules before things break. Decide who owns AI decisions, lock down how client data is used, train staff, and review the risks regularly. If you don’t, AI won’t just create efficiency. It’ll create liability.
Source: Accountingtimes.com
Weekly Trend Chart 📊
Sit Down Restaurants Are Winning Again
gmail
McDonald’s is about to roll out $3 menu items and $4 breakfast deals nationwide in April.
Fast food spent the last few years jacking up prices. Now the weird thing is happening. If a drive-thru meal costs almost the same as sitting down at Chili’s, people are choosing Chili’s.
And the numbers just flipped. In 2024, Americans spent slightly more of their dining-out money at full-service restaurants than fast food. First time since the pandemic.
The funniest part is sit-down chains saw the opening and went straight for fast food’s throat. Cheap combos. Bundles. Chili’s literally launched a campaign called “Better Than Fast Food.”
Fast food built its empire on being cheap. Then it stopped being cheap.
Meme of the Day😂
😂