Accounting and accountability for governing extraordinary events

When extraordinary events occur, new governance structures often emerged and are defined (Sargiacomo, 2015); however, their effectiveness depends on the specific circumstances of implementation, on the accountability mechanisms that are put in place; and on the accounting technologies which are introduced/legitimized/hidden (Hopper, 2020). This chapter examines the extent to which the features of governance, accounting systems and accountability mechanisms are inter-connected when extraordinary circumstances occur. In particular, this chapter explores how these accounting and accountability systems might help societal and organizational actors to “govern” the challenges and risks related to extraordinary events.