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Review compliance programmes periodically to gain reasonable confidence that they are effective. 752
6.2.4 Organizational governance issue 2: Accountability 753
6.2.4.1 Description of the issue
754 Accountability is the obligation or willingness of an organization to accept responsibility and explain the
755 reasons, causes or motives for its action. For example, elected representatives are accountable to their
756 constituents; private organizations are accountable to their owners; associations and representative
757 organizations are accountable to their members; and publicly-listed companies are accountable to their
758 shareholders.
759 An organization should also be accountable to stakeholders who are impacted by the organizations
760 decisions and actions. While those with governance responsibility will act on behalf of the stakeholders to
761 whom the organization is directly accountable, these actions may also impact other stakeholders in different
762 ways.
763 Accountability opens the decisions and actions of an organization to examination, and exerts a self-
764 regulating effect on those in authority. It increases the likelihood that the responsibilities that have been
765 conferred will be carried out in the manner intended. It also increases the fairness of decisions and actions,
766 because those with ultimate accountability are likely to take greater care for the quality of their decisions
767 and oversight.
768
6.2.4.2 Related actions andor expectations 769
An organization has the responsibility to account for: 770
The performance of the organization with respect to its specific objectives;
771
The proper and efficient use of human, financial and natural resources, using generally accepted 772
accounting and reporting practices; 773
The results of the organization’s decisions, including significant consequences, even if they were
774 unintended or unforeseen;
775
The definition of the roles, responsibilities and authorities across the different functions in the 776
organization concerning how decisions will be made, implemented and reviewed; 777
The assessment of how the decisions and actions of the organization comply with the law and internal
778 procedures and controls;
779
The significant impacts of the organization’s decisions and actions on stakeholders; and 780
Decisions and actions within the scope of the organization’s authority and consistent with its objectives.
781
6.2.5 Organizational governance issue 3: Transparency
