New development: Accountability challenges of today-time for 'new popular reporting (NPR)'

This article highlights how new popular reporting (NPR) can assist public entities-especially local governments-in translating complex sustainability and financial information into forms that citizens can understand, trust and use as a basis for decision-making. By integrating Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) metrics, financial and non-financial information and building on technology solutions, such reports can strengthen democratic accountability and promote active engagement and trust. The article provides practical insights for public managers, auditors and policy-makers seeking to develop more transparent, participatory and credible frameworks for financial and sustainability-related communication.Public accountability is evolving beyond financial stewardship toward a broader responsibility for sustainability and the wellbeing of people and the planet. Yet the complexity of disclosures and the way reporting is delivered often alienates citizens, the very stakeholders it aims to inform. This article identifies a critical gap between the proliferation of financial and sustainability disclosures and their effective use and understanding by citizens. The authors propose the introduction of new popular reporting (NPR) as a communicative and dialogic interface that builds upon, rather than replaces, existing reporting systems. Drawing on recent developments in dialogic accounting, it positions the new tool as both a means of accountability and a medium to facilitate dialogue. It also critically discusses the role of assurance, acknowledging current limitations of sustainability accounting in the public sector. The article contributes by offering a theoretically grounded and practically oriented framework for rethinking reporting as a tool for democratic engagement.