The contribution of the practice of confession and the Protestant Reformation to the modern practice of accountability

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to highlight the contribution of the Catholic practice of confession and the Protestant Reformation to the development of the modern concept of accountability.

Design/methodology/approach

A historical analysis of the literature is carried out to identify the contribution of key features of the practice of confession and the reformation of the Church to the development of accountability in Protestant societies.

Findings

The study highlights that the practice of confession is similar to accountability and the Catholic Church developed the emotion of guilt necessary for accountability. The Protestant Reformation provided for the further development of accountability to its modern form, through the restructuring of the practice of confession and the extension of the principles of accountability to itself. The conditions necessary for the practice of accountability such as popular power of the people, the concept of contracts and the emotion of guilt developed within the above environment.

Originality/value

This paper highlights the historical development of accountability to provide some insights into understanding of the environment and conditions necessary for the spread of accountability, which is becoming increasingly important in the current economic environment characterized by global integration of markets.

Citation

Velayutham, S. (2007), "The contribution of the practice of confession and the Protestant Reformation to the modern practice of accountability", Corporate Governance, Vol. 7 No. 1, pp. 29-40. https://doi.org/10.1108/14720700710727096