Internal Reporting Systems Supporting Managerial Accountability

Abstract

This research introduces a novel, cross-disciplinary framework for internal reporting systems that fundamentally re-conceptualizes managerial accountability as a dynamic, multiagent feedback process rather than a static compliance mechanism. Departing from traditional accounting and information systems literature, which often treats reporting as a
unidirectional flow of sanitized financial data, we propose a bio-inspired, stigmergic model.
This model leverages principles from swarm intelligence and complex adaptive systems observed in social insects, where accountability emerges from decentralized interactions and
environmental markers left by managerial actions. Our methodology employs an agentbased simulation to model an organization as a heterogeneous network of managerial agents
with varying propensities for transparency, cooperation, and self-justification. The core innovation of the proposed Internal Stigmergic Accountability Reporting (ISAR) system is
its use of digital pheromone trails—persistent, decaying data signatures attached to decisions, resource allocations, and outcomes. These trails allow for the non-linear, emergent
reconstruction of causal accountability pathways, enabling the system to highlight not just
what happened, but the often-opaque chain of influences and rationales behind outcomes.
The simulation results, analyzed using network entropy and coherence metrics, demonstrate
that ISAR systems significantly increase the detectability of diffused accountability and
rationalization cascades compared to traditional hierarchical reporting. Furthermore, the
system uniquely fosters a form of generative accountability, where the visibility of digital
pheromone trails influences future managerial behavior in a positive feedback loop, promoting more deliberate and justifiable decision-making. This research makes an original
contribution by bridging computational theory with organizational behavior, offering a tool
not for surveillance, but for cultivating a richer, more transparent epistemic environment
where accountability is an integrated byproduct of organizational communication, thereby
supporting more resilient and ethically aware management structures.