Spend Accountability
Spend Accountability assigns specific ownership of P&L results to individuals. It answers the question: 'Who is responsible if this campaign loses money?' It prevents the 'Diffusion of Responsibility' where agencies blame internal teams and internal teams blame the algorithm.
The Short Version
One throat to choke.
Prerequisites
The Blame Game
Performance drops. The Agency says 'Seasonality'. The Brand Manager says 'Creative'. The Founder says 'Algorithm'.
Spend Accountability forces a root cause analysis instead of excuses.
How it works
Assign each Channel/Region to an Owner
Owner agrees to KPIs (Efficiency + Volume)
Owner has full authority to cut or scale to hit KPIs
Common Misconceptions
holding people accountable for metrics they can't control (e.g., Brand Search volume)
Accepting 'Awareness' as an excuse for bad performance without a measurement plan
Firing agencies for macro-economic downturns
Frequently Asked Questions
QShould agencies own P&L?
They should own the 'Media Efficiency' part of the P&L. They cannot own Product or Pricing, so hold them to what they touch.