Accountability Through Accounting

As an individual or business there is need for a level of accountability to ensure your life or business is governed above board. Accounting is part of the business systems every business must have to help manage the resources and processes. You can only tell the health of the company if you have the correct Accounting system in place. One of the reason behind the failure of some businesses is the fact that there is minimal or no accountability of the leaders to the board or the board to the employees and so on. If no one can be held responsible for the business' performance then that business suffers from stunted growth.

- Accounting enhances accountability - Accounting produces the much needed financial performance reporting which the Directors can use to bring employees to account. We can easily tell the level of performance of a leader by simply analyzing the profit they managed to make in a month through the strict accounting policies.

- Accounting tells the health of a business - Before any investor gets involved in a business, they check the health status of the business they are about to invest in. This happens when the accounting system produces the reports. sometimes the financials are published in the press and signed off by the company secretary who then assumes full or total responsibility or accountability for the correctness of the information.

- Accuracy in Accounting is critical - One would rather not have accounting information that accumulate papers which are not accurate. With wrong data, wrong decisions are made. No one can be brought to account. It is costly to make decisions based on incomplete or wrong information.

- Accountability is for the entire workforce - Sometimes people assume that the finance people by virtue of dealing with accounts need to be accountable. Everyone has to account for what they do, how they do it and why.

- Accountability is pivotal for proper corporate governance - There can never be proper governance of a business without clear accountability structures.

I have watched over the years that situations where I have refused to be accountable, I have slowed down in making the desired progress in life. I remember when I would keep to myself with no one that could speak into my life, at that point I did the most mischievous things in life. Why not? I had no one who could look at me sternly in the face and tell me as it is. My wife taught me how accountability can be achieved through accounting with the way she handled family accounting issues to the last cent. She is one very accountable person I know. Sadly, I still lag behind in this area. I spend first and sometimes forget to keep those concerned informed about my financial actions.

Rabison Shumba is a young African entrepreneur who has interests in Information and Communication Technology, Agriculture and Mining. He is also a motivational speaker, trainer and author. His book, The Greatness Manual and various online articles are tools for personal and professional development. Together with 100 other Career Experts, Rabison co-authored the 101 Great Ways to Enhance your Career. Rabison has a personal vision of impacting the lives of children in marginalized communities by creating platforms for career counsel and guidance, information empowerment and capacity building through the Greatness Factory Trust, where he currently holds the position of Chairman of the Board of Trustees and Acting Executive Director. He is actively involved in the organization of career enhancement and guidance colloquiums to propel and inspire both young and mature professionals to greatness. His areas of expertise include strategy, leadership, personal and professional development. Rabison is married to Jackie, and they have two daughters. They reside in Harare, Zimbabwe. http://www.greatnessmanual.com or http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/rshumba