Counting What Counts

by Epstein, Marc J.; Birchard, Bill

• ISBN13: 9780738201061
• ISBN10: 0738201065
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-05-01
• Publisher: Perseus Books

Summary

Who can deny the failures in corporate accountability? From questionable earnings reporting to outright fraud, businesses are coming under increasing scrutiny from shareholders and regulators alike. As Epstein and Birchard demonstrate inCounting What Counts,these practices prevent managers from successfully executing strategy and condemn companies to a purgatory of sub-par performance; by contrast, managers embracing the principles of accountable management can become responsiveandresponsible like never before. Drawing from the personal stories of dozens of managers, and from the collective experience of 25 years of research, writing, and teaching, the authors show that managers routinely tolerate shortfalls in four areasgovernance, performance measurement, control systems, and reportingand outline a practical approach to reforming and invigorating these essential drivers to improve decision making, clarify and communicate strategy, accelerate feedback and learning, and secure stakeholder loyaltyturning accountability into a competitive asset.

Author Biography

Marc J. Epstein, Ph.D., is a leading authority on corporate accountability. Previously a professor at Harvard, Stanford, and INSEAD business schools, he is currently a visiting professor of management at Rice University in Houston, Texas. He has written a dozen books and nearly 100 articles. His most recent book is the award-winning Measuring Corporate Environmental Performance. Bill Birchard is a freelance journalist based in Amherst, New Hampshire. He specializes in business, the environment, health care, and organizational accountability. Formerly editor of Enterprise magazine, he is a contributing editor to CFO magazine and writes for Fast Company, Tomorrow, and other publications.

Table of Contents

Preface	vii
PART I The Promise of Accountability
The Accountability Advantage	3	(22)
PART II The Search For Wisdom
Facing the Crisis	25	(25)
Calling for Governance	50	(23)
Inventing New Measures	73	(26)
Managing the System	99	(16)
Lifting the Veil	115	(28)
PART III The New Order of Accountability
The Accountability Cycle	143	(25)
Financials Revisited	168	(22)
Beyond Financials	190	(26)
A Social Accounting	216	(29)
PART IV Opportunity Beyond Crisis
The Accountable Manager	245	(10)
Notes	255	(26)
Selected Bibliography	281	(18)
Index	299