Counter accounts, accountability and governance

Counter accounts are alternative representations of the activities and impacts of organizations, industries or governance regimes. Often developed by activists or non-governmental organizations, their aim is to flag abuses of power and thereby rectify a state of affairs that is considered societally or ecologically harmful or otherwise undesirable. In this chapter, we examine extant counter-accounting research from the perspective of accountability and governance. Somewhat surprisingly, there appears to be fairly little research on these themes. The link between accountability and counter accounts is either ignored or taken for granted, whereas the notion of governance is hardly addressed. Much future research potential thus exists. We envisage opportunities for further enquiry that investigates these linkages in more depth. This is especially so since, considering the state our planet is in, counter accounts contesting the neoliberal hegemony and the misfortune it spawns are likely to increase in both number and form.