Many of you will be fans, as I am, of The Rest is History podcast. Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook can make even the driest subject appear fascinating and relatable to a wide audience – a remarkable skill.

Imagine my delight when, in their recent episodes of the rise of the Medici family in Florence, speaking about the importance of accountancy to the creativity and success of the state in late Medieval Europe, Sandbrook said: ‘No accountancy, no culture.’ He was right of course.

This was a simple and powerful reminder of how fundamental financial systems and the accountancy framework that underpins them are to enabling creativity and progress. And one that is not celebrated enough in my opinion.