Spotlight Accounting in the context of accounting, accountability and governance

Spotlight Accounting is an emerging concept and practice that redistributes the existing locus of control over an organization’s accounting, accountability and governance (AAG) activities through applying dialogic accounting principles. As a concept, Spotlight Accounting conceptualizes all forms of AAG as user-initiated activities between an organization (actor) and "societal interest groups" (SIGs) wanting specific action and information prepared in a form that is suitable for their purpose. This positioning explicitly acknowledges context-specific differences between SIGs and places the provision of contextually relevant information at the heart of accounting practice. As a practice, Spotlight Accounting allows SIGs to make their context-specific needs, expectations and perceptions visible, and supports both individual actors and SIGs in addressing context-specific societal needs through tailored AAG activities. Spotlight Accounting has the potential to impact all areas of AAG substantially. Impact arises because control over, and responsibility for, accountability, as well as its implementation through the application of governance principles, processes and targets, is transferred from individual actors to a space that is shared between an actor and the SIGs to which they are accountable. This co-location of control and responsibility embeds the contextualized needs of SIGs at the centre of both accountability and governance, while also requiring society to actively support improvements in an actor's governance activities. The chapter sets out the objectives and principles of Spotlight Accounting and explores how Spotlight Accounting may be used to improve an actor's activities in the AAG field individually, as well as the connectivity between, and overarching focus of, these areas within a wider frame of accounting practice. Exemplars outlining the potential impact arising from the application of Spotlight Accounting in different contextual settings are provided.