Accountability.

Compliment of the season everyone! E ku odun e ku iyedun o. Emi wa yio se pupo re laye ati ni alaafia o. One topic that is always difficult to broach is accountability. Many people don't understand what accountability is, why it's important, or where it starts. Yes they understand accountability is important, but don't know how to create a culture of accountability, they just hope it will happen. But hope is not a strategy! Accountability is when an individual or department is held responsible for the performance of a specific function. Essentially, they are liable for the correct execution of a particular task, even if they may not be the one performing the task. Other parties rely on the task to be completed, and the accountable party is the party whose head will roll if the action is not properly carried out. Accountability is essential in your association as is common in the financial arena and in the business world as a whole. Accountability is essential in the financial industry. Without checks, balances, and accountability doled out in the form of consequences, the integrity of the capital markets would not be able to be maintained. There are compliance departments, accountants, and an entire concert of other professionals working to make sure that companies report their earnings correctly. This is the definition of accountability. Public companies are also required to have an audit committee as a part of their board of directors who are outside individuals with accounting knowledge. Their job is to oversee the audit. As the global economy has become progressively integrated, global economic problems – from climate change to financial crises – have become more interconnected as well. These global problems call for globally coherent policy responses. Such responses, in turn, call for global governance. Understanding the institutions of global governance, the determinants of compliance and policy effectiveness and an empirical framework for policy accountability are issues of first-rate importance for policymakers, academics, business leaders and all other responsible citizens. As a leader or leader to be you need to be or be ready to be held accountable for whatever position or action taken under your watch. When you do, the system will run the way it should. If you were born in January, we celebrate with you and wish you all the good your heart desire this year and always. Have a wonderful month and year everybody!

Eric Olusegun Thompson.

President, YAJ.