Revisiting Financial Accountability

Abstract

An attempt is made in the paper to provide an account of the historical evolution of the concept of accountability. History shows that the concept and content of accountability has been changing over the centuries both in India and other countries. It always ended up as a compromise between the demands of the people and what the ruling powers were willing to concede. Accountability is and has always been a two-way expression of what the people think of their government and what the governments think that they can realistically do in order to meet the demands and hopes of the people. In the process of arriving at workable formulations of the two-way relationship between the people and the government, the concept and content of democracy on the one hand, and systems of governance on the other, have gone through several changes with each change leading to  a new change. At no stage, however, the changes were part of a preconceived plan; rather they evolved from time to time neglecting the practical situations. Accountability thus varied from time to time, and with it, the content of financial accountability also changed from time to time.