More or Less?

When I was doing this week's readings on the subject of accountability, I considered two of my own experiences of the accountability factor in nonprofits. When considering my own experiences with accountability, the two that stick out most in my mind are both churches.
Until September, I had spent two years working as a youth and family minister at a church of about 300 members. Each month I sat through tenuous meetings where every line of the budget was questioned and every dollar accounted for. The staff and volunteer board members were required to provide a monthly report about what their committees were doing, how they were using their money, how church members were being involved, and what they had planned for upcoming months. This was a pretty extreme side of accountability.
The second church is the one I have worked with in New Orleans. To my knowledge, there is very little reporting done at all - a lack of budget or fiscal reports of any kind, a poor accounting system, an almost non-existent board of directors, and day-by-day planning for the furture (in terms of finances and programming). Comparing the two to the ideas in this week's reading, the first one seems like a manager's dream (in many ways) and the second like a nightmare. I thought it was interesting, though, to consider the idea of whether or not feedback and accountability motivate more quality work internally.
I must say that, after having spent significant time with the leadership of both churches, I found the second to be much more motivated than the first. The first, with all of its pomp and circumstance about reporting often seemed to be going through the motions. The second, on the other hand, which daily flies by the seat of its pants, always is open to new possibilities and is ready to take advantage of new opportunities when they arise. To be truthful, both institutions have weaknesses - the first is almost overwhelming to be a part of, and the second may fail in the end because of its weak organizational structure. I just thought it might be important to point out that more accountability doesn't always mean a better organization.