Accountability, Representation and Control and the Euro crisis Essay

Accountability, Representation and Control and the Euro crisis - Essay Example Some of the common perspectives on the crisis suggest that the weaknesses in the accountability processes, compromised systems of control, and poor representation are at the core of the Euro crisis (Hopwood, 2009, p. 797). Those who hold onto this view contend that revamping the structural basis of the three features is fundamental to resolving the crisis. The banking sector, the government spending practices, and the corporate world remain some of the areas that have received significant focus by analysts of the Euro crisis. Poor controls feature in the manner in which governments have failed to put in place regulatory systems to stem bad spending practices, which lead to increased deficits that imperil economic growth. Weak accountability systems encouraged unethical accounting practices that threatened the collapse of the banking sector in the region attracting large amounts of bailouts that burdened the taxpayers. The genesis of the Euro crisis stems from failure of some member s tates to regulate their sovereign debt. The sovereign debt, which had been capped at the 60 percent of the gross domestic product GDP, determines the state of stability of the economic stability of the member states (Arnold, 2012). Proposals for austerity measures, which have been suggested by countries like Germany have incurred the displeasure of some of the most affected countries such as Greece and Poland. The central thinking of the affected countries is that austerity measures will stunt economic growth and leading to states of economic instability, which would expose the affected countries to more damage from the systems. It is important to consider some of the reasons of the economic crisis in terms of the structural germ of their causes. At the bottom of the debt crisis is the need for stronger and reliable regulatory frameworks that would enable accountability, control, and representation in order to shield the Eurozone from the adverse consequences of the crisis. Pursuit of economic self-interest among the Eurozone member states remains one of the challenges facing efforts of addressing the Euro crisis (Lynn, 2011, p. 31). Entry into the Eurozone necessarily required member countries to cede some control of their economic structures to a centralized operational framework without mortgaging their sense of autonomy. Further, the challenge also involves the question of competition, which drove some countries to practice subjective accounting practices with the intention of protecting certain self-interests. According to some economic policies, the Euro crisis would have been averted had the member countries adjusted their accounting policies and operations in ways that embrace the aspect of representation as understood within the framework of fair trading practices (Arestis, 2012). Such structures would have provided the necessary points of economic convergence, which would have shielded the countries from the threats posed by the crisis. Much of the f ocus of the Euro crisis has involved unqualified accounting practices in the corporate world (Knight, 2012, p. 13). A number of banks, for instance, presented unqualified audit reports, which gave hints of growth based on misrepresentation of certain disclosures on assets and mortgages. Such banks later encountered numerous operational challenges that led to their being declared bankrupt. On this account, many banking institutions led to massive government expenditure in terms of bailouts, which were necessitated by the fact that failure to put in place appropriate regulatory mechanisms would expose the banking sector to the threat of collapse, which would then touch of a series of economic challenges that