What connects a Sumerian scribe, a Roman quaestor, a Florentine banker, and the modern-day CAG of India? A single, urgent question—where does the money go?

UNFOLDED: How the Audit Trail Heralded Financial Accountability and International Supreme Audit Institutions is a sweeping journey through five millennia of human attempts to control, justify, and expose the use of public money. From ancient clay tablets to the blockchain, from palace treasuries to parliamentary oversight, this book brings to life the relentless quest for financial accountability.

With vivid storytelling, case studies, and insider insights from the world of public audit, P. Sesh Kumar—retired civil servant and former Indian Audit and Accounts Service (IA&AS) officer—uncovers how civilisations built (and broke) trust in financial stewardship. The book culminates in the Indian experience: the rise of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) as a constitutional sentinel of the public purse, with warts and all, like the 2G Scam, Coalgate and the CWG scam.

Whether you’re a student of history, an economist, a policy wonk, or simply a taxpayer, this book shows why every society that ignored the audit trail eventually paid the price.