What is Government Agency

The main purpose of this chapter is to analyze the way in which the concept of accountability is addressed in the context of integrated reporting (focusing on the ongoing adoption process in the public sector). Starting from the theoretical underpinnings involving public stewardship, the authors ground their research endeavor on arguments from the literature which set public accountability at the core of a holistic form of reporting (such as integrated reporting) and investigate the theoretical implications and connections on the constituting elements of the respective reporting system. From a normative perspective, the chapter provides a conceptual analysis, using existing frameworks and guidelines, to reveal how public accountability is delineated and inferred in reporting practice. Ultimately, using content analysis, the authors conduct an exploratory study on early adopters of integrated reporting in the public sector and assess the extent to which reporting entities actually address specific issues connected to public accountability.