But businesses work on an accrual basis: once the contract is closed, and you can reasonably assume that some influx of capital is real, you put it in the accou

But businesses work on an accrual basis: once the contract is closed, and you can reasonably assume that some influx of capital is real, you put it in the accounting system. And then: if I am a shareholder, and I own part of the company, why can't I have access to the internal not-yet-audited general ledger status? It's my company, right? It should be feasible to give me access to a secure site where I can get the information... I believe the real reasons, rather than technical infeasibility, are mainly two: - Extreme "corporate governance": If shareholders can react on every minute transaction that you do, and they effectively micromanage the company, there is still more incentive for short-term thinking (a problem that a lot of listed companies are already very familiar with). - Strategy: If competitors can buy one of your shares, they would get access to all your information. You can still do the same, though: on public companies, information is either public, or private. But who is going to start? Who is going to rush to be open to the competitor?