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• bean counter
  bean counter

  noun

  an accountant or other financial officer, often one placing undue importance on spending, financial accountability, and profit, or anyone regarded as having a reductively quantitative focus.
• bean-counter
  bean-counter

  noun

  an accountant

bean counter

American  

[been koun-ter] / ˈbin ˌkaʊn tər /

Or bean-counter

noun

Sometimes Disparaging.

1. an accountant or other financial officer, often one placing undue importance on spending, financial accountability, and profit, or anyone regarded as having a reductively quantitative focus.

   If it were up to the bean counters, this company would never take risks or innovate.

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bean-counter British  

noun

1. informal an accountant

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Etymology

Origin of bean counter

An Americanism first recorded in 1970–75