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Using primary sources composed of U.S. federal legislation and federal agency audit reports, this paper documents and analyzes events in the nearly two-and-a-half-century-long process leading up to the disclaimer of opinion on the first full-scope audit of the Department of Defense (DOD) consolidated financial statements in 2018. It also applies theoretical lenses from political science, namely governmentality and public accountability, to characterize the development of these events and their ultimate aftermath, including results of subsequent DOD audits up to the most recently completed one (FY 2023). Thus, the paper extends into the present century the historiography of accounting and auditing over military endeavors in the U.S., which stretches back to the period just before the American Civil War, and analyzes its accounting and societal significance, thereby responding to a lacuna in the literature identified in earlier research and contributing to the discussion on accountability and good government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) have gained popularity as an alternative financing method for public services. SIBs promise to have lower risks for public budgets than traditional approaches. However, integrating private finance instruments into established public accountability procedures is notoriously difficult. Through a systematic review of the empirical research on implemented SIBs, this article examines those public accountability concerns. The results indicate that narratives of a new, more horizontal way of holding organisations accountable should not be accepted too easily. Risks are identified in the literature in four public accountability dimensions: transparency, controllability, responsiveness, and liability. Accountability safeguards will need to centre on establishing detailed procedures that precisely delineate the role of each actor, building effective platforms for both gathering and sharing information, and adequately transferring risks. At the same time, these safeguards could come at the cost of the attractiveness of the instrument for investors, creating a catch‐22 in which making the SIB a sustainable model of service delivery at the same time may undermine its viability. Points for practitioners: To address public accountability risks, practitioners can focus on establishing procedures that clearly define the roles of each actor involved in the SIB, creating effective platforms for gathering and sharing information between partners and making sure that financial risks are adequately transferred to private partners.At the same time, implementing safeguards for public accountability may prove challenging, as it increases transaction costs and undermines the attractiveness of SIBs for all actors.Administrations should use SIBs sparingly and transition from multiplex SIBs to two‐party contracts once programmes prove effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Journalism has long been presumed to serve as a check on the powerful, shedding light on wrongdoing; however, as local newspapers reach market failure, extant theory predicts corruption will go unchecked. We operationalize corruption as federal prosecutions for public corruption (PPCs), defined by the US Department of Justice as crimes involving the abuse of public trust by federal, state, and local public officials. We examine changes in the local news media ecosystems: first, whether declines in local newspaper employment and circulation are associated with changes in PPCs; and second, whether efforts to supplement watchdog journalism with nonprofit journalism might mitigate associated declines in federal PPC. Our findings suggest nonprofit interventions in failing local commercial news markets may be an important safeguard for keeping public officials accountable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the evolution of governance models within public administrations as they respond to complex socio-political challenges. It emphasizes the need to enhance the legitimacy and representativeness of decision-making processes in the face of persistent issues, social fragmentation, increasing inequalities, and political polarization. The study discusses two primary models: citizen participation, which promotes a more engaged form of democracy, and representative bureaucracy, which seeks to ensure that public administration reflects socio-demographic diversity. However, these frameworks have flaws, particularly in achieving representativeness and maintaining administrative efficiency. To address these issues, the concept of "Externally Active Representative Bureaucracy" (EARB) is proposed, which involves incorporating citizens directly into administrative structures to address specific challenges while improving the legitimacy and representativeness of decisions. The article reviews 155 academic articles to explore the various dimensions and effects of representative bureaucracy and citizen participation. The objective is to illustrate that EARB provides an innovative approach to public administration that bridges bureaucratic efficiency with citizen inclusion, inviting further research into this hybrid model to enhance our understanding of the operation of modern public administrations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the compatibility of authoritarianism and accountability through groundbreaking research on citizen supervision of local state agents, a novel form of accountability politics that has been underway in China for a decade. Based on an in-depth political ethnography of the Citizen Monitoring Organization in Wenzhou, this article examines how the authoritarian instrument that produces relations of domination can be turned into a bonanza for public accountability. The article demonstrates that local leaders may encourage citizens to help restrain the exercise of power in the lower state echelons when agent malfeasance is considered a threat to local leaders' career advancement. This opportunity structure leads to the mechanism of "state-backed supervision": enlisted citizen participants draw on the delegated and entitled authority of the state to demand accountability from local state agents. Examining the logic, dynamics, limitations, and outcomes of state-backed supervision, this article identifies a novel pathway to accountability in authoritarianism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is extensive literature on accountability, yet systematic research on the state of the art in the field of public administration is lacking. This research is essential to understand the aspects of accountability that have been studied and identify the primary findings and areas that require further investigation. This study seeks to address this gap by conducting a systematic literature review of 277 articles on accountability published in 15 leading public administration journals between 1996 and 2021. This review aims to answer the following questions: What types of accountability have been examined? To what extent has accountability been investigated as a dependent or an explanatory variable? Which methodological approaches dominate, and which cases are more commonly examined? What are the current challenges and future research trends? Points for practitioners: Two dimensions to consider when examining accountability are supply-side accountability, which centers on traditional government models, and demand-side accountability, which underscores the role of citizens and multiple forums. The interaction between the supply and demand sides leads to various types of accountability, encompassing vertical, horizontal, hybrid, and social accountability. Core approaches used for measuring accountability include formal, informal, voluntary, and felt accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The quest for public accountability: Bovens' theoretical and analytical impact Mark Bovens' legacy in the study of public accountability lies in his theoretical contributions, conceptual frameworks, and empirical research, which have enriched our understanding of accountability in contemporary governance and informed debates on how to improve accountability mechanisms in democratic societies. Bovens aspired to provide an empirical and social scientific dimension to the study of public accountability. Reviewing Bovens' contribution as well as the contribution of the current generation of accountability researchers educated by Bovens demonstrates that this aspiration has come true. The analytical rigor of Bovens has provided the tools to assess and analyze public accountability. The contributions of his students fulfill the quest for a genuine social scientific establishment of the concept of public accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This literature review focuses on concepts related to the role of information technology (IT) capabilities and managerial support in the context of advancing digital transformation and improving internal audit in the institutional environment. Through the synthesis of relevant academic sources, it is investigated how IT capacities and strategic management support influence the organizational ability to adapt to digital innovations. Special emphasis is placed on the complex dynamics that shape the interactions between these factors and their impact on institutional responsibility and performance. The results of the literature review illustrate the key mechanisms that support the digital transformation process, including the integration of technological systems, the development of digital competencies, and the role of management in providing resources and support. Further, a deeper understanding of the complexity of these interactions serves as a basis for further research in the field of digital transformation management and internal audit in an institutional context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protests over service delivery in South African local government have become a recurrent and pervasive challenge, reflecting dissatisfaction among citizens with the quality and accessibility of public services. This paper explores the importance of strengthening public accountability as a key mechanism for mitigating Protests over service delivery within the framework of local governance in South Africa. By examining the nexus between accountability mechanisms, citizen engagement, and service delivery, the study aims to provide insights into effective strategies for enhancing accountability to address the root causes of protests. The findings are expected to contribute to the development of evidence-based policies and practices that foster a more responsive and accountable local government, ultimately reducing the frequency and intensity of service delivery protests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite a general awareness of the potential of big data in terms of public interest, several obstacles prevent their effective sharing. This study, linking the discourse on data to the concepts of data value and accountability, aims at emancipating the scientific debate from the emphasis on administrative transparency and the protection of privacy, tracing new perspectives for future research. The present research examines the main peer-reviewed articles published by journals that have dealt with data value and accountability across the public and private dimensions. The bibliometric analysis carried out indicates a propensity by current literature to consider the issue of data value creation either only in the private (data as input to improve business performance or customer relations) or in the public dimension (open data government models). This means that research on behavioral data for public governance has so far been underestimated. Evidence shows that big data value creation is closely associated with a collective process where multiple levels of interaction and data sharing develop among private and public actors in a multilayered accountability environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to construct a model of supervision of the Regional Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBD) consisting of: (1) transparency of public policy affects the supervision of the APBD, (2) public accountability affects the supervision of the APBD, (3) religiosity moderates the transparency of public policy to the supervision of the APBD, (4) religiosity moderates public accountability to the supervision of the APBD. This research was conducted at the Malang City Government DPRD Consultant in 2022. Using explanatory research with a saturated sample technique, as many as 44 council members were obtained, excluding the chairman and researcher. Data related to the research variables were collected through questionnaires given directly to respondents. Furthermore, the data was analyzed by moderation double linear regression. Previously, validity, reliability and classical assumption tests were carried out. The hypothesis was tested using a t-test with a 5% alpa. The results prove that: first, transparency of public policies has a significant positive effect on the supervision of the APBD, second, public accountability has a significant positive effect on the supervision of the APBD, third, religiosity strengthens the influence of public policy transparency on the supervision of the APBD, and fourth, religiosity strengthens the influence of public accountability on the supervision of the APBD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing use of automated decision-making (ADM) systems in the public sector and the need to control these has raised many legal questions in academic research and in policymaking. One of the timely means of legal control is accountability, which traditionally includes the ability to impose sanctions on the violator as one dimension. Even though many risks regarding the use of ADM have been noted and there is a common will to promote the safety of these systems, the relevance of the safety research has been discussed little in this context. In this article, I evaluate regulating accountability over the use of ADM in the public sector in relation to the findings of safety research. I conducted the study by focusing on ongoing regulatory projects regarding ADM, the Finnish ADM legislation draft and the EU proposal for the AI Act. The critical question raised in the article is what the role of sanctions is. I ask if official accountability could mean more of an opportunity to learn from mistakes, share knowledge and compensate for harm instead of control via sanctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to understand the roles and functions of village heads in managing the finances of Madani Village and the factors influencing them. The village, as the lowest administrative unit, plays a strategic role in development and public service provision as stipulated by Law No. 6 of 2014. Public accountability is the main foundation in village governance. This research uses a descriptive analytical method with normative and empirical legal approaches. Data were collected through interviews and documentation studies at the Madani Village Office, Wotu District, East Luwu Regency. The results show that village heads hold significant positions in carrying out governance, development, and community guidance. Financial management in the village faces several issues such as delayed payments and asset management. Improvement efforts are made through monitoring, evaluation, and enhancing financial management practices. Implementing public accountability principles is necessary to improve transparency and the performance of village governance.

Public accountability has remained one of the most prominent academic debates with scattered and incompatible conceptualisations and sobering findings. The typology of public accountability is very complex, and it is mostly misunderstood in the academic community and the public sector. Various academics and government officials have built up arguments that public accountability is key to citizens, customers and government institutions to promote good governance and improve service delivery. However, there seems to be a gap in theory and research that seeks to offer high-quality mechanisms to define and measure accountability in government. This study argued that this partly emanates from traditionalised and institutionalised programmes that do not incorporate the New Public Management (NPM) reforms entirely. Traditionalised and institutionalised programmes refer to those programmes that reject direction of change and receptivity of society towards innovative ways to foster public accountability and improve service delivery. Principalagent and public value theories as an addition to the NPM theoretical foundations were adopted as a means to clarify and improve public accountability and public service delivery. This qualitative study rigorously reviewed multiple scholarly journals, books, government programmes, reports and policies to build up its main arguments and conclusions. Thereafter, the paper recommended a model of public accountability to improve public policy and enhance service delivery. The study conclude that there is urgency in defining the complexity of public accountability mechanisms and its effect on public service delivery. Subsequently, the study contribute to effective policymaking to improve service delivery through innovative ways to preserve public accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores some challenges of enforcing public accountability in Tanzania using secondary data. In so doing, the article employs the institutional perspective to identify and discuss five challenges within the institutional architecture that constrain enforcement of public accountability. The main argument is that most of the challenges facing enforcement of public accountability are resulting from the institutional architecture, which presents a paradox of two contradictory logics. One logic is that citizens are the principals with the power to hold their leaders accountable. The other logic is that the ability of citizens to hold their leaders to account must be restricted. Previous research offers explanations for accountability deficits in Tanzania. However, these studies under emphasize the contradictions in the legal framework and the role of political culture thereby obscuring an understanding of constraints to public accountability in Tanzania. This article expands this discourse by exploring the contradictions within the legal framework and between the formal and informal institutions in a way that subverts the ability of citizens to hold their leaders to account. The article also identifies the gap between the theory and practice of accountability to appreciate the role of political culture among citizens as a significant agency in enforcing accountability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hierarchical accountability often proves insufficient to control street‐level implementation, where complex, informal accountability relations prevail and tasks must be prioritized. However, scholars lack a theoretical model of how accountability relations affect implementation behaviors that are inconsistent with policy. By extending the Accountability Regimes Framework (ARF), this paper explains how multiple competing subjective street‐level accountabilities translate into policy divergence. The anti‐terrorism "Prevent Duty" policy in the United Kingdom requires university lecturers to report any student they suspect may be undergoing a process of radicalization. We ask: what perceived street‐level accountabilities and dilemmas does this politically contested policy imply for lecturers, and how do they affect divergence? An online survey of British lecturers (N = 809), combined with 35 qualitative follow‐up interviews, reveals that accountability dilemmas trigger policy divergence. The ARF models how street‐level bureaucrats become informal policymakers in the political system when rules clash with their roles as professionals, citizen‐agents, or "political animals." [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In an era where fake news and political rhetoric must constantly be fact checked, this article seeks to raise awareness within the public sector about how the use of counter accounting can help to challenge official versions of events and actions and influence public debate. While counter accounting has most frequently been used by those investigating sustainability issues within accounting, this article aims to stimulate debate about how counter accounting can also be used to make an impact within the public accountability and management arena, through the presentation of alternative accounts and narratives to counter the official accounts produced by governments and other public sector organizations. The article also encourages the authors of counter accounting work to disseminate their findings on a timely basis to a wider audience, for example through more targeted use of social media. This article explores what counter accounting is and how this methodology can offer a different way of presenting accounting and accountability information. It enables academics and activists external to the organizations being examined to challenge prevailing official positions through the provision of alternative narratives and/or financial statements. Many counter accounts produced to date focus on sustainability and social audit issues in the corporate world. This article recommends that the same techniques can be used to good effect in the public accountability and management context to challenge governments and other public sector bodies. It gives examples from the literature and identifies the topics of health and welfare, education, climate change, acts of war and disaster responses as suitable areas for further study. Given that counter accounting has yet to influence significant transformative societal change, it suggests greater use of social media as a timely way of building greater public awareness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the aftermath of major terrorist attacks, governments create public inquiries to establish the facts of the matter, expose those facts to public scrutiny, find fault, allocate blame, ensure accountability, and restore public confidence. Yet few studies pay close attention to these responses as a practice of remedial intervention into official counterterrorism efforts. Based on our examination of New Zealand's Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Terrorist Attack on Christchurch Mosques on 15 March 2019, we argue that two contending approaches to national security shaped the inquiry's design and informed its conduct. On the one hand, an established whole-of-government approach produced design features that led the inquiry to reproduce the orthodox logic of security professionals and entrench existing security policy and practices. On the other hand, a revisionist approach sought to use the inquiry as a means of furthering the Government's social cohesion policy agenda and to strengthen democratic protections for minority groups. However, the implementation of the inquiry's recommendations reveals a deep commitment to the whole-of-government approach to national security, which appears to co-opt civil society representatives and marginalise dissenting voices. This, in our view, leaves New Zealand society little better off when it comes to understanding the nature and scale of the threat posed by terrorism or responding to a diverse array of other security challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The manner at which public officials manipulates and won elections in Nigeria deeply depreciates the political value of the electorate and embolden such officials to refuse to be accountable to the masses. Thus, democracy in Nigeria has been profoundly endangered since Nigeria returned to democratic system of government in 1999 as a result of undemocratic practices, chiefly, the aspects that relates to elections and public accountability. At the center of these democratic misdemeanors in Nigeria is inherent lack of transparency and accountability of public leaders. This study therefore investigates perceptions of public accountability and its impacts on democratic stability in Nigeria with observations from Akwa Ibom State. The study articulated four objectives which translated into four research questions and four hypotheses. The Social Contract Theory was adopted for this study. The study also adopted descriptive research design and chi-square statistical technique to analyze the data collected. Research questionnaire was distributed to sample of 200 participants randomly selected from each of the three senatorial districts of Akwa Ibom State, totaling 600, which the researcher only retrieved 570 of it. The findings revealed among others that citizens' views about the electoral processes influence their perceptions of democratic stability. The study recommended among others that the electoral processes should be very transparent to all citizens to enlist their trust and confidence in the political system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparency is widely acknowledged as a core value in the governance of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. However, scholarship on AI technologies and their regulation often casts this need for transparency in terms of requirements for the explanation of algorithmic outputs and/or decisions produced with the involvement of opaque black-box AI systems. Our article argues that this discourse has re-interpreted and reshaped transparency in fundamental ways away from its original meaning. The target of transparency – in most cases, the provider of AI software – determines and shapes what is made visible to the outside world, and there is no external check on the validity and accuracy of such mediated accounts and explanations, opening transparency up for manipulation. Through a theoretically informed and critical analysis of the transparency provisions in the European Union’s AI Act proposal, the article shows that the substitution of transparency with mediated explanations faces important technical constraints, creates opportunities and incentives for both providers and public-sector users of AI systems to adopt opaque practices, and reinforces secrecy requirements that gag accountability in practice. An approach to transparency as disclosure thus becomes necessary, even if not sufficient in and of itself, to ensure the accountable development and use of AI technologies in the European Union. Transparency needs to be reclaimed as a core concept, accountability tailored and reinforced and the necessity for secrecy re-examined and cordoned off.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of good university governance and reputation risk management on the public accountability of private universities, especially Halmahera University. The two things above, namely the practice of good university governance and reputation risk management are two interrelated things and must be accounted for to gain trust and strengthen legitimacy from the public as a private university of high quality, highly competitive, and have an impact on the progress of society. This study used a quantitative approach, the data were analyzed using the SPSS version 26 program on 98 samples of permanent lecturers at Halmahera University through a questionnaire that had passed the validity and reliability test. The data analysis aimed to examine the effect of good university governance and reputation risk on public accountability, and good university governance against reputational risk by path analysis method. The results show that Good University Governance has a significant negative effect on Public Accountability, Reputation Risk has a significant positive effect on Public Accountability, and Good University Governance has a significant positive effect on Reputation Risk. Based on the results of this study, it was concluded that the practice of Good University Governance and handling the risk of higher education reputations, especially at the University of Halmahera, would have a good impact on public accountability to provide a better image for the University of Halmahera

The aim of this paper is to investigate how politically based trade union power can determine the fate of a regulatory body's organizational reform and undermine public accountability in a purportedly democratic developing country (DC). A large regulatory organization in Bangladesh was examined as a case study to uncover how political actors and power were embedded in a World Bank (WB)‐led organizational reform designed to contribute to public accountability and democracy. Interviews and media (newspaper) were utilized to identify the contestation of powers at macro‐ and micro‐levels. The explanation of reform implementation was informed by New Institutional Theory and its derived concept of institutional logics. Finding that political recruitment of the organization's senior executives made it susceptible to the pressures of political agents, the study reveals how politically supported union actions interrupted a WB‐led organizational reform that was seeking to secure democracy and public accountability. It finds that the pre‐existing institutional arrangements resurfaced over time as the political agents secured more power to restore past practices that adversely impacted public accountability. The lack (absence) of accountability in a so‐called democratic regime facilitated political interference with the regulatory governance and reforms that undermined organizational accountability to external stakeholders. The case‐study organization's institutional environment, agents, and interests were unique situational conditioners that nonetheless may be relevant to other similar public accountability organizations in DCs. The findings of the paper have important implications for policymakers who design, implement, and evaluate public accountability reforms in DCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study described that phenomenon in the law-making process in Indonesia by displaying the data on the behaviours or issuance of laws during lame duck sessions from 1997 to 2020. Compared with that of regular sessions, laws issued during the lame duck sessions significantly looked more productive but they did not comply with the mandate of laws desiring that each bill was supposed to be discussed in three sessions at the longest. In terms of the materials regulated in Laws, many lawmakers took advantage of a lame duck session to pass any laws in favour of the state officials that often generated public rejection and had shifted its participatory role through a judicial review at the Constitutional Court. Empirical tests of the law's response to economic growth using econometrics analysis also indicate that current laws have a negative impact on the economy. House of the Representatives (DPR) and the President had actually understood the logic that a lame duck session was not such a right time to make a law; however, making a law during a lame duck session was not prohibited and there were no such clear rulings restricting the making of a law during this session. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the application of the principles of the rule of law, transparency, and accountability in the implementation of the 2020 Pesisir Selatan Pilkada and to analyze the challenges and opportunities of applying the principle of the rule of law. law, transparency, and accountability in the implementation of the 2015 South Coastal Pilkada. 2020. D In supporting the implementation of the Pilkada with legal certainty, the Pesisir Selatan Regency KPU has determined 15 decisions, including: technical instructions for stages and programs; determination of voting day and date, technical instructions for nomination procedures; determination of nomination requirements, technical instructions for the implementation of socialization, technical instructions for working procedures for the Pesisir Selatan Regency KPU, standards and technical guidelines for preparing budget needs, goods and services needs, and honorariums; technical guidelines for the distribution and accountability of the budget; technical instructions for stages, programs and implementation schedules, technical instructions for the formation of PPK, PPS, and KPPS, technical instructions for updating voter lists, technical instructions for campaign implementation, technical instructions for the need and technical specifications for the prevention and handling of Covid-19 controlling protocol equipment in the implementation of elections. In addition, implementing health governance in collaboration with the Pesisir Selatan Regency Covid-19 Task Force Team. The political party that carries the pair of candidates and their campaign team, the Regency Bawaslu, and the Republic of Indonesia Police (POLRI) of the Pesisir Selatan Regency, known as the Pesisir Selatan Police.

Accountability and performance management scholars have called for more attention to the micro-level consequences of performance regimes, including the effects of performance information use. Reflecting these themes, this study considers the degree to which accountability regimes in schools, imposed by U.S. states, and encouraged by the federal government, relate to teachers' job satisfaction and turnover intentions. Using data from the 2015 to 2016 National Teacher and Principal Survey, we consider the degree to which the following relate to teacher attitudes: (1) the inclusion of student achievement growth on standardized tests in teacher performance appraisals, (2) using additional sources of performance information in the appraisal beyond the student achievement scores, and (3) the differential effects of developmental and administrative uses of appraisal ratings. Our results show that when schools include student growth on standardized tests in appraisals, teachers report lower satisfaction and a higher turnover intention. Using additional sources of performance information, however, relates to improved satisfaction and decreased turnover intentions. Using student standardized test information to inform both positive and negative administrative consequences is associated with lower satisfaction but is not associated with turnover intentions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparency is widely acknowledged as a core value in the governance of artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. However, scholarship on AI technologies and their regulation often casts this need for transparency in terms of requirements for the explanation of algorithmic outputs and/or decisions produced with the involvement of opaque black-box AI systems. Our Article argues that this discourse has re-interpreted and reshaped transparency in fundamental ways away from its original meaning. The target of transparency -- in most cases, the provider of AI software -- determines and shapes what is made visible to the outside world, and there is no external check on the validity and accuracy of such mediated accounts and explanations, opening transparency up for manipulation. Through a theoretically informed and critical analysis of the transparency provisions in the European Union's AI Act proposal, the Article shows that the substitution of transparency with mediated explanations faces important technical constraints, creates opportunities and incentives for both providers and public-sector users of AI systems to adopt opaque practices, and reinforces secrecy requirements that gag accountability in practice. An approach to transparency as disclosure thus becomes necessary, even if not sufficient in and of itself, to ensure the accountable development and use of AI technologies in the European Union. Transparency needs to be reclaimed as a core concept, accountability tailored and reinforced and the necessity for secrecy re-examined and cordoned off. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the urge to make public sector organizations accountable has resulted in a wide range of citizen‐centered financial reporting tools that aim to overcome the limits of traditional financial reporting. To date, the debate on these public accountability innovations has mainly focused on the reasons underpinning their adoption from the users' perspective, while how preparers affect accountability in the process of constructing such documents is empirically less investigated. By drawing on Callon's concept of translation, this paper aims to analyze how the preparers of citizens‐centered financial reports perceive and translate public accountability into practice. In fact, localized translation of public accounting innovation may reveal divergences and ambiguity inherent in the public accountability principles shaped by concurring actors, events, and technologies. The research is qualitative and interpretative, through a longitudinal case study in a municipality, observing the process of construction of a citizen‐centered financial reporting tool (i.e., Popular Financial Reporting—PFR). The originality of the paper lies in its contribution to the debate about how public accountability tools are translated into practice by providing evidence of the dynamics that lead an organization along the implementation path. Our findings confirm that the output of the process is the result of the interaction of different networks of interest. Consequently, the final document may vary consistently from the initial project and the general principles of the framework followed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We share the literature review of the thesis NETWORK CITIZENSHIP: transparency and accountability in access to information, defended in the Graduate Program in Information Science at the Federal University of Paraíba, in 2021. Its objective was to identify the extent to which the transparency portals of Brazilian capitals and the Federal District meet the characteristics that allow accountability. From the Access to Information Law (LAI), the public transparency movement emerged in Brazil, causing public opacity to lose space for public transparency. This movement, however, by itself is not enough to consolidate citizenship and democracy, for that it is essential that the citizen can exercise public accountability. of accountability We identified that despite the advance in terms of conditions that allow them to be considered as transparent and to identify signs of accountability, the literature review was fundamental in this knowledge process. We identified that despite the advance in terms of conditions that allow them to be considered as transparent and identify signs of accountability, the literature review was fundamental in this knowledge process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]