Editing Accountability (section)

{{Short description|Concept of responsibility in ethics, governance and decision-making}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}

In [[ethics]] and [[governance]], '''accountability''' is equated with answerability, [[culpability]], [[legal liability|liability]], and the expectation of account-giving.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Dykstra|first=Clarence A.|date=February 1938|title=The Quest for Responsibility|journal=American Political Science Review|volume=33|issue=1|pages=1–25|doi=10.2307/1949761|jstor=1949761|s2cid=143587418 }}</ref>

As in an aspect of [[governance]], it has been central to discussions related to problems in the [[public sector]], [[nonprofit]], private ([[corporate]]), and individual contexts. In leadership roles,<ref>{{cite book|last=Williams|first=Reyes|year=2006|title=Leadership accountability in a globalizing world|location=London|publisher=Palgraave Macmillan}}</ref> accountability is the acknowledgment of and assumption of responsibility for actions, [[Product (business)|products]], decisions, and policies such as [[Business administration|administration]], governance, and implementation, including the obligation to report, justify, and be answerable for resulting consequences.

In governance, accountability has expanded beyond the basic definition of "being called to account for one's actions".<ref>{{multiref2
|1={{cite journal |last=Mulgan|first=Richard |year=2000|title='Accountability': An Ever-Expanding Concept?|journal=[[Public Administration (journal)|Public Administration]]|volume=78|issue=3|pages=555–573|doi=10.1111/1467-9299.00218}}
|2={{cite journal|last=Sinclair|first=Amanda |year=1995|title=The Chameleon of Accountability: Forms and Discourses|journal=Accounting, Organizations and Society |volume=20|issue=2/3|pages=219–237|doi=10.1016/0361-3682(93)E0003-Y}}
}}</ref> It is frequently described as an account-giving relationship between individuals, e.g. "A is accountable to B when A is obliged to inform B about A's (past or future) actions and decisions, to justify them, and to suffer punishment in the case of eventual misconduct."<ref>{{cite book|last=Schedler|first=Andreas|editor=Andreas Schedler |editor2=Larry Diamond |editor3=Marc F. Plattner|title=The Self-Restraining State: Power and Accountability in New Democracies|chapter=Conceptualizing Accountability|publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers|location=London|year=1999|isbn=978-1-55587-773-6|pages=13–28}}</ref>

Accountability cannot exist without proper accounting practices; in other words, an absence of accounting means an absence of accountability.{{cn|date=July 2023}} Another key area that contributes to accountability is good records management.<ref>{{cite journal | last=David | first=Rodreck | title=Contribution of records management to audit opinions and accountability in government | journal=South Africa Journal of Information Management | publisher=AOSIS | volume=19 | issue=1 | year=2017 | issn=1560-683X | doi=10.4102/sajim.v19i1.771 | page=| s2cid=168907338 | doi-access=free }}</ref>