From monologic to dialogic: accountability of nonprofit organisations on beneficiaries’ terms

Purpose – Informed by the critical perspective of dialogic accounting theory, this paper explores the use of evaluation as a means of enhancing accountability to beneficiaries within nonprofit organisations. As a stakeholder group frequently marginalised by traditional accounting practices, the participation of beneficiaries within a nonprofit organisation’s accountability structure is presented as a means of increasing social justice. Design/methodology/approach - The research design used case studies involving two nonprofit organisations, examining documents and conducting interviews across three stakeholder groups, within each organisation. Findings – Findings reveal that when viewed on beneficiaries’ terms, accountability to beneficiaries, through participative evaluation, needs to consider the particular timeframe of beneficiary engagement within each organisation. This temporal element positions downwards accountability to beneficiaries within nonprofit organisations as multi-modal. Research limitations – The research poses a limit to statistical generalisability outside of the specific research context. However, the research prioritises theoretical generalisation to social forms and meanings, and as such provides insights for literature. Practical implications – In acknowledging that beneficiaries have accountability needs dependent upon their timeframe of participation, nonprofit organisations can better target their downwards accountability structures. This research also has practical implications in its attempt to action two of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. Originality/value – This paper makes a contribution to the limited research into nonprofit accountability towards beneficiaries. Dialogic accounting theory is enacted to explore how accountability can be practised on beneficiaries’ terms.