Corporate Accountability

Every election season, some Congressional candidate or Senate candidate barks into the microphone that officials must hold “corporations more accountable to the public.” Those are just code words for more regulations, more political donations, and more grifting.

Corporate accountability...free from government intervention...is a tenant that firms should be held responsible for their decisions and actions, especially non-financial ones that affect more than just their shareholders. These decisions can include matters of social and civic responsibility, their impact on the environment, their impact on competitors and consumers, and the local communities in which they operate.

Holding companies accountable has been a difficult and arbitrary task by regulators. However, firms typically highlight their efforts to be better citizens in their annual financial reports. Some firms are better at it than others.