Accounting is not exactly basic education material, at least in Brazil, and my college graduation is in History... so, no, I don't understand shit about accounting. And most people would not too unless they study it or work in a office where they could come in contact with it.
I know right. Second novel spoilers Spoiler The story is clearly going that way. It is great! Even the queen mother ships Alfred and Iris intensely.
Basic education changes drastically depending on the country or sometimes even the individual state/province of a country. In general, financial education is not deemed important as basic education but bháskara formula is, wich is insane. I know how to calculate the size of a building by measuring it's shadow but not how to manage accounting if I decide to open a small business. Wich one do you think will happen in my life more often? I take solace in the fact that it is not a brazilian problem only, but a western one. Most western countries follow the same basic curriculum established in the 19th century with very little changes to it. That curriculum did not have financial education because it was made to educate factory workers, not bussiness owners, wich would be people that make a financial-oriented college.
I am on chapter 70 of the web novel. Spoiler This is going in a very different way I thought it would go. For starters, the romance is zero. Iris has no reverse harem. Only very loyal supporters. Even if the mother queen is obsessed with marrying her into the royal family Alfred and Iris have still to met. Ed's mother is another thing. She also knows that if Iris marries Alfred her son will never be king. At first I thought that meant that Iris will obviously marry Alfred and become his queen... but... something bigger is happening backstage! The excommunication arc made me realize that thanks to Iris, her dukedom is growing in such accelerated way that it will leave the rest of the country behind... and it could end up in another Greece vs EU again (and Iris pulling a Henry VIII if they try to excommunicate her again!) . The commoners will follow Iris because she's the kind leader that has improved their living conditions and teached them to read and write and the nobles will follow her because after two years of running the Azuta Conglomerate she's no longer the "disgraced girl" but Tywin Lannister in skirt... Meanwhile the crown has been sinking in debts and Edward, the so called most probable crown heir, in his childish character can't see it at all. I can wait for another conflict to break out and Armelia becoming a completely independent state. Yuri (the heroine) is a very suspicious character, the more I read about her the more I suspect she's just a gold digger. When the novel reffers to her it's always with a biased point of view: one of her harem members who only refer to her as: she the beautiful brown haired girl an they only refer to her with her loveliness... and even Iris refers to her as just the typical airhead shojo heroine and doesn't have any second thoughts about her. She is the daughter of a baron but she's still just an illegitimate daugther he had with a maid and there's no records or someone who can confirm how she spent her life before coming to the academy.
In my and @Poor_Hero's country, basic accounting were teached in first year of high school. Advanced one were taught in social program. Second year HS student could choose if they want to enter science (bio, chemistry, physic) or social program (economy, sociology, geography). History, math, civic, sports, arts and English were taught in both. I hope a rival in business would show up. Resistance from nobles and the mass from economic difference is a pretty big problem, and some other novel never touch the issue at all.
Would someone short of a super genius even be able to compete against 21th century business practices and economic vision? If someone like that appeared it would be too much of a plot device for me to like. I think the only way she can be challenged by anyone would be in a political battle, where she doesn't have experience or many allies as of right now.
The other mom is dead, it's always compared to Yuri some times, the king (and Edward) wanted to marry them no matter what. There's no more info than that.
Not direct fighting in business, but more to a mix of political x economy. Cut short the funding to Iris's territory, decrease the supply of important commodities, establish a law, or as you have said using politic and taking away her (possible) allies. The establishment of bank require a lot gold as guarantee and the government's consent. If a queen/prince use their power to made the nobles hesitate in placing their fund in Iris's bank, her foothold will collapse. Considering her father want to remain neutral, I don't think he will help Iris in obvious manner. Advancement in economy will bring a huge power, and together with it, more faction that will consider them as a threat. Especially since the fight in throne is pretty intense atm.
Spoiler: spoiler question okay so queen mom who is alfred mom wants iris in and eds mom also wants iris in or is she trying to get her excommunicated again?
That would make more sense than a pure business fight. And you are right that she will be getting an enourmous power with the advancement of the economy, but the most power that she will get is not from commodities, but from educating her people. That will give her an enourmous wealth of talents to work for her in the future.
No, the queen mother is both prince's grandmother. Spoiler She originally wanted Iris' mom (Mary) to be married into the royal family but she gave up when Mary fell in love with Iris' dad. Her hopes restarted when she met Iris because she loves girls who work hard. (I am quoting her here). The queen consort is dead (Alfred's mom) and the concubine (Ed's mom) is the one who is giving Iris hell. Spoiler There's some competition after two years but they can't imitate Iris' management style so one of them tried to excommunicate her in order to isolate her with the help of Ed's mom and the pope but it didn't work out.
how the hell does she even know how to do so much?.... there's no way in hell she was a regular company employee in her previous life
She was not. By what I remember she saying in one of the chapters, she worked as a tax auditioneer for the japanese government. So she was highly profficient in accounting and government tax policies. I don't know how it is in Japan exactly, but I bet she got at least an MBA to land that kinda of job.