Accountability

The term “accountability” implies the duty to act in a responsible way and to be accountable to others for one’s actions, in order to maintain effective and logical links between planning, deciding, action, and verification. The term is complex and chameleonic (Sinclair 1995; Mulgan 2000), and it evokes at the same time: a principle, a duty, a behavior, a system, a process, and a series of operating tools. The term – particularly familiar in Western societies – comes, in a theoretical sense, from political science studies and should be considered a fundamental cornerstone of democratic systems (Shah 2010; Borowiak 2011). In any case, it represents the need to convey how financial and nonfinancial resources are used, the correctness of those who operate in a management capacity, the adequacy and conformity of actions taken compared to preexisting objectives, and the results reached over time. This is achieved by highlighting organization policies, laws, and political, social, cultural, and environmental requirements in which the entity – whether public or private – operates, in order to contextualize any evaluation of results and objectives, plans and behavior.