Accounting is something you do at the "payment level", not at the "currency level". Dollars have no built-in way to track historical balances, and I don't think anyone considers that a shortcoming. We can keep track of credits and debits regardless.
I'm sure that with all developments at the wallet software (multiple clients, payment protocol, ...), it's perfectly possible to create a GAAP-conformant system, or at least one that easily integrates with accounting systems.
I don't think discussion about that belongs in this thread though - this is about solving a low-level scalability problem, not about how we manage high-level use of it.
@Pieter Wuille
I would rather say, that "accounting systems" and "currencies" are completely different things.
They cannot be compared or treated/used somehow alternatively as you insinuate.
Accounting is for all currencies including BTC exactly the same!
For details see GAAP, not even mentioned once in the whole wiki.
https://en.bitcoin.it/w/index.php?search=GAAP&button=&title=Special%3ASearch
In BTC its really easy.
We have to deal only with a very tiny and very easy partition of GAAP,
i.e the logically really quite simple payment system only.
A ==>> B, B ==> C etc.
But basics forgotten, totally ignored at lowest levels can hardly be repaired on higher levels, here the level of users/clients.
Going that way the self inflicted basic problems are perpetuated and increased, see the endless exploding blockchain (which easily could have been avoided by carry-overs not even thought about, see GAAP).
So I can't help but hope and insist that all efforts are concentrated and invested in the BTC level itself and not wasted in workarounds installing a complicated parallel system for things that should and could much easier be done on the lower level.
Muck out all stuff and bestow BTC itself (not the clients) with a small and professionel, fast working payment system, simply and quickly usable by each client and THEIR accounting/bookkeeping systems !!
Brevity is the soul of wit.
The more code and stuff the worse.
Small is beautiful !!