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NGOs, civil society and accountability: making the people accountable to capital

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Purpose – The purpose of this research is to seek to understand and explain the non-governmental
organisation (NGO) and its location in civil society in order to provide a basis for future research work.
The paper aims to explore and develop understandings of accountability specifically in the context of
the NGO and then extend these insights to the accountability of all organisations.
Design/methodology/approach – The paper is framed within a theoretical conception of
accountability and is primarily literature-based. In addition secondary data relating to the issues of
concern are collated and synthesised.
Findings – The research finds that the essence of accountability lies in the relationships between the
organisation and the society and/or stakeholder groups of interest. The nature of this relationship
allows us to infer much about the necessary formality and the channels of accountability. In turn, this
casts a light upon taken-for-granted assumptions in the corporate accountability and reminds us that
the essence and basis of success of the corporate world lies in its withdrawal from any form of human
relationship and the consequential colonisation and oppression of civil society.
Research limitations/implications – The principal implications relate to: our need to improve the
analytical incisiveness of our applications of accountability theory; and the possibility of the accounting
literature offering more developed insights to the NGO literature. The primary limitations lie in the paper
in being: exploratory of a more developed understanding of accountability; and a novel excursion into
the world of the NGO and civil society – neither of which feature greatly in the accounting literature.
Practical implications – These lie in the current political struggles between civil society and
capital over appropriate forms of accountability. Corporations continue to avoid allowing themselves
to be held accountable whilst civil society organisations are often accountable in many different and
informal ways. Ill-considered calls from capital for more oppressive NGO accountability are typically,
therefore, hypocritical and inappropriate.
Originality/value – NGOs are introduced in a detailed and accessible way to the accounting
literature. The concept of accountability is further developed by examination of relationships and
channels in the context of the NGO and, through Rawls’ notion of “closeness”, is further enriched.

Keywords Corporate social responsibility, Society, Non-governmental organizations, Capital

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Ketersediaan

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Informasi Detail

Judul Seri

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal

No. Panggil

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Penerbit

: Emerald Group., 2006

Deskripsi Fisik

Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal Vol. 19 No. 3, 2006 pp. 319-348

Bahasa

English

ISBN/ISSN

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Klasifikasi

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Tipe Isi

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Tipe Media

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Tipe Pembawa

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Edisi

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Subjek

AKUNTANSI

Info Detail Spesifik

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Pernyataan Tanggungjawab

Asmawati/Syahrial

Versi lain/terkait

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