Accounting and controlling: Stakeholder accountability

Responsible management is impossible without an accounting practice that delivers information regarding the triple bottom line, stakeholders, and ethical issues. The management proverb “What cannot be measured, cannot be managed,” which is often quoted in connection with the quality management pioneer William Edwards Deming, is as true for responsible management as it is for any other management activity. The difference is that in responsible management, managers largely are not yet used to measuring responsible management activity and performance. This chapter aims to provide a basis of concepts and practice to measure, manage, and improve responsible business activity and performance.