A Disclosure Theory Approach to Government Transparency: Implications for Accountability in Times of a Pandemic

This chapter argues that disclosure theory can add novel and important insights to research on public sector transparency, accountability, and accounting standard-setting. Through a brief summary of the main tenets of the theory, it will be recalled that whenever information systems are too costly or unable to provide precise signals to governments, a lack of transparency is likely to ensue that is attributable to limits to public officials’ knowledge rather than to a desire to escape accountability. It will be proposed that in these circumstances, public officials should discharge their accountability duty by being transparent about the motives that prevent full disclosure. These arguments are presented by analyzing the quality of data released by governments on COVID-19 mortality rates during the first wave of the pandemic, while their possible application to accounting and accountability topics is discussed.