“This degrading and stealthy practice”

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to make visible the relationship between accounting and stigma in the absence of accounting. This research examines how failure to implement mandatory accounting and auditing requirements in the management of indigenous wages contributed to stigmatisation of indigenous Australians and led to maladministration and unchecked financial fraud that continued for over 75 years. The accounting failures are by those charged with protecting the financial interests of the indigenous population. Design/methodology/approach An historical and qualitative approach has been used that draws upon archival and contemporary sources. Findings Prior research has examined the nexus between accounting mechanisms and stigma. This research suggests that the absence of accounting mechanisms can also contribute to stigma. Research limitations/implications This research highlights the complex relationship between accounting and stigma, suggesting that it is simplistic to examine the nexus between accounting and stigma without considering the social forces in which stigmatisation occurs. Social implications This research demonstrates decades of failed accounting have contributed to the ongoing social disadvantage of indigenous Australians. The presence of accounting mechanisms cannot eradicate the past, or fix the present, but can create an environment where financial abuse does not occur. Originality/value This research demonstrates that stigma can be exacerbated in the negative space created by failures or absence of accounting.

Accounting and First Nations: A Systematic Literature Review and Directions for Future Research

“…In Canada, North America and Australia, for example, the removal of First Nations peoples to religious missions, reserves or allotted tribal lands was a means of securing uninterrupted access to the most productive land (Holmes et al 2005;Oakes and Young 2010;Gunstone 2012). The long-term effect on the resettled population was the creation of 'welfare colonialism'; a form of social control over the First Nations population through dependence on government financial assistance (Preston and Oakes 2001;Preston 2006;Altman and Biddle 2015;Miley and Read 2018). The policies of containment and segregation were later accompanied by a doctrine of cultural assimilation (Neu 2000a;Mc-Nicholas et al 2004;Moerman and Van Der Laan 2011).…”

“…The first theme, explored in 24 papers, investigates the role played by techniques of accounting and financial measurement in creating and sustaining inequalities within settler colonial states. The notion of accounting as a tool of legitimacy for colonial regimes in the dispossession of First Nations peoples is explored in Canada (Neu 1999;Neu 2000a;Neu 2000b;Neu and Therrien 2003;Neu and Graham 2004;Neu and Heincke 2004;Neu and Graham 2006;Greer and Neu 2009), the United States (Preston and Oakes 2001;Holmes et al 2005;Preston 2006; Oakes and Young 2010), New Zealand (Hooper and Pratt 1995;Hooper and Kearins 1997;Hooper and Kearins 2004;Hooper and Kearins 2008), Australia (Gibson 2000;Greer 2009;Greer and Neu 2009;Greer and McNicholas 2017;Miley and Read 2018) and Fiji (Davie and McLean 2017;Sharma and An 2018). As noted above, more than 50% of the publications identified in the accounting literature are historical in focus.…”

“…2005; Oakes and Young 2010; Gunstone 2012). The long‐term effect on the resettled population was the creation of ‘welfare colonialism’; a form of social control over the First Nations population through dependence on government financial assistance (Preston and Oakes 2001; Preston 2006; Altman and Biddle 2015; Miley and Read 2018). The policies of containment and segregation were later accompanied by a doctrine of cultural assimilation (Neu 2000a; McNicholas et al.…”

“…Human rights and land rights movements by First Nations groups emerged, calling to account the political regimes responsible for their oppression (McNicholas and Barrett 2005). For many, the compensation offered for the loss of rights to land and sovereignty, such as financial settlements for stolen wages and non-exclusive native title, has been grossly inadequate (Gibson 2000;Tuck and Yang 2012;Miley and Read 2018). Nonetheless, recent decades have seen the emergence of First Nations-controlled land trusts, community service providers and profit-making enterprises, motivated by economic participation on their own terms (Peredo et al 2004;Foley 2006;Baker and Schneider 2015;Shirodkar et al 2018).…”

“…Accounting historians have uncovered the ‘dark side’ of accounting as a tool in the dispossession of First Nations peoples under colonial rule (Buhr 2011: 140). The impacts of accounting techniques used to create and sustain inequalities historically are still felt today (Gibson 2000; Neu and Therrien 2003; Neu and Graham 2006; Baker and Schneider 2015; Greer and McNicholas 2017; Miley and Read 2018). Such criticism has extended to the accountancy profession itself for exclusionary practices that prevent disadvantaged populations such as First Nations peoples from acquiring professional qualifications (McNicholas 2009; Lombardi and Cooper 2015).…”