The primary responsibility of the accounting profession is to prepare and examine financial records and to give management advice on how best to run the organisation efficiently and
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profitably. The accountant has an ethical responsibility to those who rely on his/her work. This responsibility is owed to the clients, the management of the company which he or she works for, investors and creditors, as well as to outside regulatory bodies such as the various arms of government, (see Lusher 2012: 13 and Tout et al 2014: 310). Accountants are responsible for the validity of the financial statements they work on, and they must perform their duties in accordance with all applicable principles, standards and laws. Responsibility was defined by Berry (1979) as, “a sphere of duty or obligation assigned to a person by nature of that person’s position, function or work.” This definition is more inclined to the business world. Accountants by simply discharging their primary obligations, that is the functions associated with their roles, may be sufficient. However, responsibility can also include moral obligations that are in addition and usually related to the functional obligations of the roles. These moral responsibilities are therefore an extension of the primary responsibilities of the accountant. This means accountants are moral agents who must be accountable for their actions.
The responsibility of the accounting profession is driven from the profession’s claim of working for the public interest. The public interest claim was discussed in one of the last chapters and it was concluded that there is no consensus on what exactly is it, (Fulop, 2013: 27). The accounting profession has an important role to play in society. There are many stakeholders who have vested interests and rely on the quality of the work of the accountants in their day to day business decisions, Fulop, (2013: 34), "this trust the profession public accountability for its action. The behaviour and attitude of professional accountants in providing these serves has an important impact on economic welfare of the entities in which they work, but also of the community and the country." A true professional accountant is someone who is not only interested in the accuracy of his or her numbers but someone who can influence the management decision-making capabilities. It can, therefore, be acceptable
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to say that every accountant has a responsibility of operating in their line expertise and at the same time contributes towards increasing confidence in the profession. The confidence in the profession has been seriously constrained since a series of accounting scandals at the beginning of this century.
Accountability is a concept that is difficult to define in precise terms. It exists when there is a relationship where an individual or body, and the performance of tasks or function by that individual or body, are subject to another's oversight, direction or request that they provide information or justification for their actions or non-action. Accountability was defined by Hunt as, "the readiness or preparedness to give explanation or justification to relevant others for one's judgements, intentions, acts and omissions when appropriately called upon to do so." This means the accounting authorities or persons must be ready to have their actions reviewed and judged by others and be prepared to carry the responsibility for errors, misjudgements and negligence and recognition for competence, excellence and wisdom. It entails boldness to face the consequences that result from one's actions or non-action. This is not an easy concept because the way it is supposed to work and what it means is surrounded by theoretical and practical controversy. There is no general consensus in what accountability means and how it works. This makes the effective application of accountability relative and hence daunting. As complex as it might be, it is necessary for accountants to abide by this concept because it legitimises the existence of the profession and the organisations whose accounts they prepare and audit. Accountability entails transparency and participation in decision making and in delivering duties and obligations. It must also allow for the evaluations of the decision made and the action taken by those to whom accountability is due. There must also be a deliberate willingness with those who have a duty or obligation to account honestly and fairly. In this regard, accountability is definitely an aspect and
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prerequisite, not a substitute for being ethical. Being accountable is a step towards being ethical.
There is no doubt that accountants are accountable to the shareholders of business who hire them. The same accountability applies to the accounting profession that they belong to. They are mandated to providing financial information that is useful to the shareholders and investors of capital for them to base their investment decisions and to the profitability of their investments. This information is prepared guided by the ethical requirements of the accountancy profession. In this regard, accountants and the profession are accountable to the stockholders of the business entity. Stockholders are those individuals who have a direct interest in the business' operations and the business cannot continue in existence without their willing contribution. This is the traditional view but the contemporary scenario gives the accounting profession a more comprehensive role of being accountable to all stakeholders regardless of the diverseness of their requirements. This is, however, more in line with the claim of the profession, that is, "to work for the public interest" as highlighted earlier on in this same the chapter. This is in line with the stakeholder approach which emphasises on responsibility than profitability which is the only aspect advocated by the stockholder perspective. The stakeholder approach embraces everyone and organisations are viewed as coalitions with the purpose of serving their stakeholders. This emphasises the need of the accounting profession to be accountable to the stakeholders.