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What We Learned in 2015: 3 Accounting Lessons from Greece Financial Crisis

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And what clients need to know for 2016.

By Alisa Hunt
Post University

On August 20, Greece avoided – just barely –  defaulting on its debt by making a payment to the European Central Bank towards the billions it received in aid from several European countries. It’s the latest chapter in the country’s economic downfall, and still, not a major step forward as this payment only repays existing debt and does not aid in rebuilding Greece’s broken economy.

It’s going to take years, decades even, to stabilize the country’s financial wellbeing. Even then, Greece will have shattered any credibility it might have had with European leaders, banks, and the rest of the world.

Countless articles have been written on how a lack of accountability, transparency, and general financial literacy within Greece’s government caused the situation to continuously decline, and for good reason: What happened to Greece can happen on a personal scale.

Here are the most important lessons to take away from the fallout in Greece.