Accountability or Accounting?

The subject of accountability seems to be in discussions everywhere I turn. Ministry and non-profit settings have often been places of low accountability. Rich Stearns of World Vision once told me that many of these organizations have a culture that seems to say, “We’re good people doing good things, and that out to be good enough.” In other words, our good intentions are all the accountability that we need. Fortunately, there is a growing awareness of the need for and value of accountability. As this shift occurs, however, it’s important that we strive for accountability and not accounting. What’s the difference? Accounting focuses strictly on numbers. If it can’t be objectively quantified, it’s not part of the conversation. At its extreme, accounting creates a hyper-focus on short-term results, which can lead to decisions that are detrimental to long-term goals. The obsession of the stock market on quarterly earnings is an example of this kind of accounting mindset. In ministry and non-profit settings, some of the most important things are not easily counted. That is not to say that we shouldn’t strive to create appropriate metrics. The ideal accountability conversation should incorporate traditional metrics (e.g., attendance), newly created metrics that relate to desired outcomes, and narrative. A key word in distinguishing “accounting” versus “accountability” is conversation. Since an accounting mindset is strictly about objective numbers, there is often little room for conversation. Either you hit your targets or you don’t. If you don’t, then there may be consequences. There can still be consequences with accountability, but the conversation should always include elements of understanding and learning. “Help me understand why we didn’t achieve the outcomes that we expected?” “What can we learn from this and what adjustments do we need to make going forward?” The primary emphasis in these conversations is to help the individual and the organization achieve their mission. How would you characterize your organization? What can you do to foster higher levels of real and meaningful accountability? It’s easy to receive my blogs by email. Just sign-up on Feedburner by clicking here.]]>