How to make accountability happen?

Dear Colleagues

Community Analytics (CA) is a powerful tool for accountability ... and all the more important as an independent initiative because the main actors in the global economy see accountability a something for key stakeholders only with no accountability to the public in general and the society in which we all live.

This prevailing framework of money based metrics is unsound ... and explains to a large extent why the banking and finance sector was able to undermine the foundations of the world economy. A focus on money profit under unprincipled GAAP and FASB rules of accountancy, a focus on stockmarket price growth and a focus on GDP growth to the exclusion of almost everything that was of substance in society ... like infrastructure, for example ... and an economic train wreck was bound to happen.

CA addresses the issue of money accounting and value accounting ... but what about the basics of transparency and accountability.

Very few organizations are willing to engage in the practice of transparency, and in doing accountability so that the public understands where resources are going and what is happening to the society. This is a tremendous problem, that has to be addressed. CA will do everything possible ... recognizing that big organizations in general do not want to see accountability in place, bad small organizations having the same position, and only good small organizations wanting to collaborate. This is not a strong position ... but it is not an impossible position. CA will be engaged as much as is possible and for as long as it takes!

In the next blog, some correspondence about metrics in the global health sector.

Peter Burgess