Tippett, John and Kluvers, Ron (2010) Accountability and Information in Local Government. World Journal of Management, 2 (3). pp. 22-33. ISSN 1836-070X

Abstract

Whilst information cannot be equated with accountability it is an essential ingredient and the raw material of the accountability relationship. This study explores the understanding of the link between information and accountability, as revealed by Victorian local government managers and elected councillors in a New Public Management (NPM) environment. Associations between the proposition that access to information by all stakeholders is essential for accountability and mechanisms to provide information were investigated. Participation in decision making and compulsory reporting were seen by councillors and managers to be important to accountability. A key finding is that whilst councillors and managers consider information to be an essential ingredient of accountability, this information is considered by them to be an intra-organisational matter, and not an issue of vital importance to stakeholders outside the council. Thus, the information councillors and managers use and value is appropriate for managerial accountability, not political accountability.

Search Google Scholar

Repository staff login