Historically? Perhaps batch processing. It simply isn't possible for a bank for example, to press a button and see where the money is. It takes several days

Historically? Perhaps batch processing. It simply isn't possible for a bank for example, to press a button and see where the money is. It takes several days of operations to get anything near accurate and meaningful. This sounds like a joke, but it most seriously isn't. (this is before the qualitative nature of valuing stuff, this is simply the question 'where is the money?')