Accountability Counsel

“The tax return is prepared by an outside accounting firm. After completion of said returns, the organization is sent a draft of the tax returns to be reviewed and examined. The organization makes copies of the returns and distributes to those individuals charged with governance. Those individuals at that time can review and if applicable discuss any line items in the return with the accountant who has prepared the return. If all items are found to be acceptable, an authorization is signed and provided to authorize the outside accounting firm to process, sign and provide copies of the returns to be filed (paper or electronically) with the designated governmental agencies. The tax returns are then signed by the organization, stamped and mailed with certified return receipt or the signed form 8879 is provided to the outside accounting firm allowing electronic filing.”

“The Directors, Officers, and Key Employees of Accountability Counsel must complete a Compliance Form on an annual basis, which includes an affirmation that they have received a copy of the Conflict of Interest Policy, have read and understand the Policy, agree to comply with the Policy, and information on all actual or potential Conflicts of Interest involving them or their family members. The Compliance Form also contains an affirmation that the they understand that Accountability Counsel is charitable in nature and in order to maintain its federal tax exemption, it must engage primarily in activities that accomplish one or more of its tax-exempt charitable purposes.”

“The Executive Directors compensation is set by the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors (Board members minus the Board President, who is the Executive Director). The Board sets compensation based on Executive Director performance and benchmarking to other leaders of social enterprises making similar levels of impact. The compensation of other key employees is set by the Executive Director, reviewing performance and benchmarking to similar key roles, with a goal of being a competitive leader to attract and retain key talent.”

“Federal Tax Returns are available at guidestar.org & charitynavigator.org.”

“Governing documents are available for public inspection at the principal place of business.The conflict of interest policy and the organization's financial statements are available upon request.”

“Communities Program work temporarily shifted to relying more deeply on local partners where in person travel has not been possible.”

“OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 4: Communities Achievements: Continuation from page 2, Form 990In Haiti, we continue support to farmers who reached agreements to remedy harm resulting from their displacement by an industrial park. We have advocated at the level of the banks and government players who are parties to the agreement and as a result, have started to see implementation: of the agricultural equipment portion of the agreement (with water pumps delivered and now functioning), of the delivery of training in sewing to prepare people for factory jobs, and of the small business program (information gathering to inform implementation of this program's start-up capital and training).In Mongolia, we supported nomadic herders with implementation of agreements reached through dispute resolution to remedy harm from a large mine. These agreements aim to help local herders continue their traditional way of life while accessing support for alternative livelihoods. Achievements in the fiscal year included publishing an implementation report online in Mongolian and English, distributing information about implementation progress to herders, and continuing to provide advice to herders on technical matters related to agreement implementation.In Myanmar, we supported Indigenous communities to advocate for their rights, forests, and peace through an accountability office complaint about a top-down conservation project in a conflict zone. Having achieved project suspension last year, we have supported communities in their advocacy around an alternative, Indigenous-led conservation plan and regarding continuing engagement in the accountability office complaint process. In Ukraine, we continued to support villagers in a dialogue process seeking solutions to harm from an industrial poultry operation with 17 million chickens that is seeking substantial expansion without adequate safeguards.In India, we continued to support tea workers around a dialogue process to address abusive living and working conditions on tea plantations, building on a successful compliance investigation process we supported. In Kenya, we continued support to farmers and Lamu communities to raise grievances to investors about the harmful impacts of a proposed coal-fired power plant on the environment, cultural heritage sites, and traditional livelihoods.In Nepal, we continued support to Indigenous communities affected by high-voltage transmission lines to engage in a complaint process with an accountability office regarding the need for free, prior and informed consent. The knowledge sharing component of our Communities program achieved a more informed group of civil society colleagues globally, and advised and trained communities on accountability office strategy. In particular, we engaged with advocates and communities in more than 20 countries. We convened a network called the International Advocates Working Group, with regular convenings to share information and provide mutual support.Policy Advocacy Achievements: Continuation from page 2, Form 990Achievements in the fiscal year include successful advocacy for policy changes that will improve accountability at the World Bank Group; successful advocacy to improve accountability at the US Development Finance Corporation; advocacy around creation of an accountability office at USAID; and contributions resulting in a strong accountability framework for Chinese banks investing overseas. Our policy team also successfully advocated for more robust environmental, social, and access to information safeguards at the Inter-American Development Bank and USAID, and impact investing standards for private entities certified by the UNDP.Research Achievements: Continuation from page 2, Form 990The Research teams automated messaging tool (Zwazo) was used to share case updates and conduct a survey with more than a hundred community members in Haiti. A public version of this software was released (Asfour) to allow partners, allies, and other int”