For the members of a company or institution to acquire a real commitment to its results, they need to know that someone expects accountability on a regular basis. This is a basic principle in the governance of organizations.
There are many companies that are used to this process, mainly in schemes in which salespeople receive payments or commissions according to their performance.
Accountability in a company appears as one of the fundamental elements of organizational transparency and a guarantee to demonstrate results, which has gained popularity in many companies worldwide.
In the last ten years it has gained importance thanks to the political context and the innumerable benefits it has provided in the field of management, as are undoubtedly the contributions it makes to corporate reputation.
Accountability is one of the most important processes of a transparency philosophy at the organizational level. It is about the presentation of reports at the public or private level —whatever the case may be— that show the impacts, processes, structures, income, expenses, number of collaborators or any other information relevant to business or administrative actions.
The principle of transparency, in the business sphere, refers in principle to two components: accountability and access to information. Accountability indicates that companies must account for their actions to all those affected by them.
Transparency in the organizational environment means that the company is willing to report on its current situation, what decisions are made and by whom.
To act transparently and be accountable, companies must organize and coordinate inputs, resources, reports, preparatory activities, and logistics for use in the execution stage of the accountability strategy.
The culture of transparency and accountability in a company or institution must be based on these three fundamental principles that, although they may change or evolve from one organization to another, must essentially be present.
Dialogue
As part of a transparency process, accountability implies the clear establishment of relationship frameworks between the members of the organization that stimulate cooperation, joint decision-making and actions, sharing the meaning of their actions, objectives and the goals of the organization.
The existence of internal and external dialogue is, without a doubt, an indicator of transparency in any type of company or institution.
Legality and internal policies
It is the principle of surveillance and monitoring that is reflected in the mechanisms used through public or private instances and that allows monitoring the behavior of collaborators and punishment when said behavior distances itself from the regulations. The establishment of parameters for the recognition and punishment of errors or omissions is another fundamental principle.
A policy can be required internally or externally, as part of organizational controls, and allows the establishment of rules regarding commitment, results and accountability.
Equity
This refers to the distribution of benefits, properties, rights and obligations among the collaborators of an organization, as well as among its board of directors.
It allows to recognize the contributions of the members and avoids conflicts for the delivery of rewards in an unequal way.
The conflicts generated by ignoring this principle can trigger delays in the processes, failures in intra and interdepartmental communication, as well as the relationship between collaborators.
If we take into account that transparency is a value associated with business efficiency, accountability in an organization allows a company to adopt much clearer and more informed processes that facilitate the production of value for its market.