ACCA Applied Knowledge · Business and Technology · Leadership, management and supervision
A finance manager asks a senior accountant to prepare the monthly management accounts, giving the accountant the right to access the ledger and request information from other departments. Which term best describes the formal right given to the accountant to make decisions and instruct others in carrying out this task?
Authority is the correct term. It is the formal, legitimate right to make decisions and instruct others, conferred by the organisation. Responsibility is the duty to carry out the task, accountability is answering for results, and influence is informal and not based on a formal right.
- AAuthorityCorrect
- BResponsibility
- CAccountability
- DInfluence
Explanation
Authority is the formal, legitimate right to give instructions and make decisions, normally conferred by the organisation's position structure. Responsibility is the obligation to perform the task, and accountability is being answerable for the outcome. Influence is an informal ability to affect others and does not come from formal rights.
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