Business Glossary

individual or departmental responsibility to perform a certain function. Accountability may be dictated or implied by law, regulation, or agreement. For example, an auditor will be held accountable to financial statement users relying on the audited financial statements for failure to uncover corporate fraud because of negligence in applying Generally Accepted Auditing Standards GAAS) .

framework for justifying management organizational actions, whether they are financial or employment-related. Ajunior manager is accountable to a senior manager for the completion of an organizational program by a particular date and within budget guidelines.