4 Demonstrating Accountability

In this section first we analyse what accounts are and we clarify the process around provision of accounts and their verification. After this, we discuss the relationship between evidence and metrics, and introduce a confidence model for metrics. Metrics are a foundation for continuously assessing compliance, with a strong relationship to accountability. This topic, and the role of certification as an accountability mechanism, is examined in section 4.7. We conclude this section by proposing an Accountability Maturity Model in section 4.8.