Accountability in Non-Profit Organisations: Compliance, Ethics, and Power

Accountability constitutes one of the most contested yet essential dimensions of legitimacy within the non-profit sector. Unlike private firms and state agencies, non-profits operate in an environment characterised by multiple stakeholders, diffuse expectations, and heightened vulnerability to reputational risk. This article examines accountability not only as an instrumental mechanism for compliance but also as an intrinsic ethical commitment. Drawing on governance and public administration theories—including principal–agent, stewardship, stakeholder, and legitimacy perspectives—the analysis demonstrates that accountability is best understood as a dynamic negotiation of power between donors, governments, beneficiaries, and communities. The article further considers how crises of trust and high-profile scandals have exposed the limitations of compliance-based models, reinforcing the need for participatory and rights-based approaches that privilege downward accountability.