Responsibility and accounting, is a good combination in business

Responsibility Accounting is a system of control where responsibility is assigned for the control of costs. The persons are made responsible for the control of costs. Proper authority is given to the persons so that they are
able to keep up their performance. OR Responsibility accounting mean report to highlight the accuracy of spefic people

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Essential Features of Responsibility Accounting:
An analysis of the definitions given above reveals the following important features or fundamental aspects of responsibility accounting:

1. Inputs and Outputs or Costs and Revenues:
   The implementation and maintenance of responsibility accounting system is based upon information relating to inputs and outputs. The physical resources utilized in an organisation; such as quantity of raw material used and labour hours consumed, are termed as inputs. These inputs expressed in the monetary terms are known as costs. Similarly outputs expressed in monetary terms are called revenues. Thus, responsibility accounting is based on cost and revenue information.

2. Participative Management:
   The function of responsibility accounting system becomes more effective if participative or democratic style of management is followed, wherein, the plans are laid or budgets/ standards are fixed according to the mutual consent and the decisions reached after consulting the subordinates. It provides motivation to the workers by ensuring their participation and self imposed goals.

3. Human Aspect of Responsibility Accounting:
   ‘The aim of responsibility accounting is not to place blame. Instead it is to evaluate the performance and provide feedback so that future operations can be improved’. Goals and objectives are achieved through people and, hence, responsibility accounting system should motivate people. It should be used in positive sense. It should not be taken as a device to punish subordinates.

It should rather help in improving their performance. Subordinates sometimes dislike control because they take them as restraints. The best responsibility accounting system enlightens employees about the positive side of control. To ensure the success of responsibility accounting system, it must look into the human aspect also by considering needs of subordinates, developing mutual interests, providing information about control measures and adjusting according to requirement

Steps for Achieving Goals of Responsibility Accounting:

1.. The targets of each responsibility centre are set in. The targets or goals are set in consultation with the manager of the responsibility centre so that he may be able to give full information about his department. The goals of the responsibility centres are properly communicated to them.

2.Timely action is taken to take necessary corrective measures so that the work does not suffer in future. The directions of the top level management are communicated to the concerned responsibility centre so that corrective measures are initiated at the earliest.

1. The purpose of all these steps is to assign responsibility to different individuals so that the performance is improved. In case the performance is not up to their targets set, then responsibility may be fixed for it. Responsibility accounting will certainly act as control device and it will help in improving the overall performance of the business

4.The organisation is divided into various responsibility centres each responsibility centre is put under the charge of a responsibility manager. The managers are responsible for the performance of their departments.