DECENTRALIZATION AND RESPONSIBILITY CENTERS In general, a company is organized along lines of responsibility, Traditional organiza tional charts illustrate the flow of responsibilities from the chief executive officer down through the vice presidents to middle- and lower-level managers. Today, most companies use a flattened hierarchy emphasizing teams. This structure is consistent with decentral- ization. GE Capital, for example, is essentially a group of smaller businesses. Ideally, the accounting system mirrors and supports the structure of an organization. responsibility Firms with multiple responsibility centers usually choose one of two decision-making approaches to manage their diverse and complex activities: centralized or decentralized. In centralized decision making, decisions are made at the very top level. and lower- level managers are charged with implementing these decisions. decision making allows managers at lower levels to make and Decentralized implement key decisions pertaining to their areas of responsibility. This practice of company is called decentralization. authority to the lower levels of management in a decision-making delegating Exhibit 12.1 illustrates the difference between centralized and decentralized companies.