From compliance to conscience: Rethinking governance and sustainability through transcendental accountability

This study rethinks governance and sustainability by introducing transcendental accountability as a governance logic that extends beyond procedural compliance and audit-based control. While dominant governance frameworks emphasize efficiency, transparency, and measurable performance (Gélinas, 2025; Qerimi et al., 2025), such approaches often marginalize moral intention and spiritual responsibility. Drawing on a narrative–interpretive research design, this study examines the lived experiences of Ustad and administrators within an Indonesian pesantren (Islamic boarding school), a faith-based institution that deliberately resists bureaucratic formalization. The findings reveal a three-layered structure of accountability—silent, relational, and transcendental—rooted in the ethical concepts of amanah (sacred trust) and ikhlās (sincerity). Rather than functioning as an external control mechanism, accountability operates as an internal moral orientation shaped by religious consciousness and communal obligation. By positioning religion as an integral cultural pillar of sustainability, the study extends contemporary governance frameworks to include religion-based accountability as a source of moral endurance and institutional legitimacy. The study concludes that conscience-based accountability offers a viable alternative governance logic capable of sustaining ethical integrity in faith-based and mission-driven institutions, particularly where formal control mechanisms are limited.