Accountability and governance in pursuit of Sustainable Development Goals: conceptualising how governments create value

Abstract

PurposeDrawing on Adams (2017a) conceptualisation of value creation by organisations published in the Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, the purpose of this paper is to develop a conceptualisation of how national governments can create value for society and the economy through their approach to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).Design/methodology/approachAn initial conceptual framework was developed from literature situated at the intersection of accountability, public policy and sustainability/sustainable development. The authors' review of extant research on national policy development on value creation, sustainability and the SDGs identified gaps in (understanding of) approaches to national accountability and national governance (by state and civil society) processes. The subsequent thematic analysis of 164 written submissions made to the Australian Senate inquiry on the SDGs between December 2017 and March 2018, together with transcripts of five public hearings where 49 individuals and organisations appeared as witnesses during the second half of 2018, focussed on addressing these gaps.FindingsInput to the Australian Senate Inquiry on the SDGs overwhelmingly emphasised the importance of transparency and stakeholder participation in accountability systems, commenting on data gathering, measuring and communicating. There was an emphasis on the need to involve all parts of society, including business, investors and civil society, and for strong central co-ordination by the Office of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. These data allowed the authors to refine the conceptualisation of how national governments can enhance social and economic value through a focus on the UN SDGs and their approach to accounting, accountability and governance.Practical implicationsThe findings have implications: for national governments in developing approaches to achieve sustainable development; and, for supranational bodies such as the UN in developing agreements, frameworks and guidance for national governments.Originality/valueBuilding on the extant literature about how global governance should be engaged to improve accountability in achieving the SDGs, the conceptual framework developed through the study shifts focus to national governance and accountability, and provides a blueprint for national governments to create value for the economy and society in the face of global sustainable development issues.

Towards a conceptual framework for non-financial reporting inclusive of pandemic and climate risk reporting

“…The validity of the data is ensured by the co-authors discussing and reaching consensus in relation to coding ambiguities and the construction of disclosure items by combining the codes (see, for an example of this approach, Abhayawansa et al, 2021). One of the co-authors doublechecked the coding to ensure intra-coder reliability (see, also, Krippendorff, 2004).…”

La rendición de cuentas y responsabilidad social en los gobiernos centrales: Alianza del Pacífico

“…Sin embargo, el desarrollo de principios y de prácticas ha sido limitado en comparación con los avances en las organizaciones del sector privado (Figueira et al, 2018) y estos aspectos resultan necesarios de incorporar debido a las tendencias actuales de sostenibilidad y a los compromisos para el cumplimiento de los objetivos planteados en la Agenda 2030 (United Nations, 2015) donde los procesos de rendición de cuentas de los gobiernos nacionales resultan esenciales para la implementación y cumplimiento de los Objetivos de Desarrollo Sostenible y la creación de valor social y económico para los grupos de interés (Abhayawansa et al, 2021).…”

“…Aunque inicialmente solo fue considerada por el sector privado, los gobiernos centrales han empezado a contemplarla mediante el impulso de los acuerdos y los compromisos internacionales adquiridos en materia de crecimiento económico, protección del medioambiente y garantía de los derechos sociales, a partir de un esquema relacional que involucra programas con el sector privado y con la sociedad civil. Aunque cada gobierno tiene diferentes ritmos para la implementación de políticas y prácticas relacionadas con la sostenibilidad, que dependerán de las condiciones políticas, sociales y económicas de los países (Abhayawansa et al, 2021).…”

Accountability and governance in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in a developing country context: evidence from Tanzania

“…Strong governance structures and public accountability processes are critical to the national implementation of SDGs (Meuleman, 2018;Abhayawansa et al, 2021), especially in developing countries (DCs). Yet, we know little about the nature of accountability and governance mechanisms at the national level, and their impact upon the dynamics of implementing SDGs in DCs such as Tanzania.…”

“…Accounting scholars have problematised the paradox of accountability and sustainability governance in contemporary society (Barrett et al, 2020;Unerman, 2018, 2020;Charnock and Hoskin, 2020;Hopper, 2019;Niles and Moore, 2020;Sobkowiak et al, 2020). However, there has been relatively little exploration of the relationship between accountability and governance in pursuing and attaining SDGs (Abhayawansa et al, 2021;Breuer and Leininger, 2021), especially at the local level, and its challenges in a DC context. Given the challenges encountered during implementations of the MDGs and the limited success of previous pro-poor development initiatives, structured through hierarchical top-down regimes in DCs (Word Bank, 2005), localization 2 of the SDGs requires new forms of governance and accountability mechanisms at the national level to address their pressing socio-economic and environmental issues (United Nations, 2015;UNRISD, 2016).…”