Corporate Accountability

Knowledge Center

• About
• Home
• Dictionary
• Encyclopedia
• Question?
• Views

• Register
• Log in
• Help

• Change & Organization
• Communication & Skills
• Decision-making & Valuation
• Ethics & Responsibility
• Finance & Investing
• HRM
• Knowledge & Intangibles
• Leadership
• Marketing
• Program & Project
• Strategy
• Supply Chain & Quality

Description of Corporate Accountability. Explanation.

Definition Corporate Accountability. Description.

Corporate Accountability is a broad term that refers to the moral or legal obligation for companies of being accountable to the shareholders or Stakeholders of the organization or even to society as a whole. Stakeholders may include shareholders, employees, customers, suppliers, the local community, special interest groups and the countries or regions that the firm operates in.

In fact, one can distinguish three forms of accountability:

• Societal Accountability: each organization is seen as accountable for its actions to society in general and to specific groups or organizations within society.

• Organizational Accountability: within each organization, agents, directors and other trustees are seen as accountable for the way they represent the organization. Also, when these agents in turn appoint and control managers, these are also seen as accountable for the way they run the organization.

• Interpersonal Accountability: of one person in the organization to another, depending on informal networks, the Organizational Culture and shared values and beliefs.

Three relevant questions at all three above levels when thinking about accountability are:

• To whom is an organization or individual accountable?

• For what is this organization or individual accountable? Purpose of the organization, Shareholder Value Perspective, Stakeholder Value Perspective.

• How is the accountability organized? (Mechanisms: by law, public reporting, public pressure, election, Organization Chart and structure, corporate governance, etc).

The concept of accountability is strongly related to other concepts such as Corporate Transparency, Corporate Sustainability, Corporate Responsibility, and Corporate Governance.

Corporate Accountability Special Interest Group Special Interest Group (2823 members)

Corporate Accountability Forum   Recent topics   The Need for More Accountability in Africa In Africa accountability is a dirty word. Until accountability becomes a part of societal behavior, it will remain the dark continent. To avoid b...           Corporate Accountability versus Corporate Social Responsibility How to differentiate the concepts of corporate accountability and corporate social responsibility<...           A Case of Misapplied Accountability Principle Please give your comments on the following case: Following corporate accountability principle, when there is fund misappropriation perpetra...

Best Practices - Corporate Accountability   Globalisation Asks for More Accountability Globalization has seen the growth of multinational business such that it is estimated that over half of t...

Expert Tips - Corporate Accountability Advance yourself in business administration and management

Resources - Corporate Accountability The Board of Directors: Roles, Responsibilities and Duties     News about Corporate Accountability         Videos about Corporate Accountability         Presentations about Corporate Accountability         Books about Corporate Accountability         More about Corporate Accountability       Accelerate your management career

Compare also: Shareholder Value Perspective  |  Stakeholder Value Perspective  |  Safe Harbor Statement  |  Whistle Blower  |  Globalization  |  Stakeholder Mapping  |  Stakeholder Analysis  |  Triple Bottom Line  |  Directors and Officers Liability Insurance

Return to Management Hub: Communication & Skills  |  Ethics & Responsibility  |  Finance & Investing  |  Strategy

More on Management  |  Return to Management Dictionary  | 

This ends our Corporate Accountability summary and forum.