IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/aaajpp/aaaj-03-2016-2477.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Western accounting reforms and accountability in wealth redistribution in patronage-based Nigerian society

Author

Listed:
  • Owolabi Bakre
  • Sarah George Lauwo
  • Sean McCartney

Abstract

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to investigate the claim that Western accounting reforms, in particular the adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) would enhance transparency and accountability and reduce corruption in patronage-based developing countries such as Nigeria. Design/methodology/approach - The paper utilises the patron/clientelism framework to examine the dynamics of Western accounting reforms in the Nigerian patronage-based society, in which the institutions of governance and regulatory structures are arguably weak. The paper utilises archival data and interviews conducted with representatives of state bodies (elected politicians and officials) and professional accounting associations. Findings - Results from two major reforms (the sale of government-owned residential properties in Lagos and the monetisation of fringe benefits for public officials) are presented. Despite the claim of the adoption of Western accounting standards, and in particular IPSAS 17, which requires full accrual accounting and the utilisation of fair value in property valuation, historical cost accounting appeared to have been mobilised to massively corrupt the process for the benefit of politicians, other serving and retired public officials and family members. Originality/value - This study contributes to the current literature by providing evidence of the relationship between patronage, corruption and accounting in wealth redistribution in the patronage-based Nigerian socio-political and economic context.

Suggested Citation

  • Owolabi Bakre & Sarah George Lauwo & Sean McCartney, 2017. "Western accounting reforms and accountability in wealth redistribution in patronage-based Nigerian society," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 30(6), pages 1288-1308, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:aaajpp:aaaj-03-2016-2477
    DOI: 10.1108/AAAJ-03-2016-2477
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/AAAJ-03-2016-2477/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/AAAJ-03-2016-2477/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/AAAJ-03-2016-2477?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bakre, Owolabi M. & McCartney, Sean & Fayemi, Simeon Olufemi, 2022. "Accounting as a technology of neoliberalism: The accountability role of IPSAS in Nigeria," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    2. Kimani, Danson & Ullah, Subhan & Kodwani, Devendra & Akhtar, Pervaiz, 2021. "Analysing corporate governance and accountability practices from an African neo-patrimonialism perspective: Insights from Kenya," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    3. Ismail Adelopo & Ibrahim Rufai & Moshood Bello, 2023. "Financial Accountability and Religious Sentiments: The Case of Sukuk Bond," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(2), pages 397-420, January.
    4. Vincent Tawiah, 2023. "The Effect of IPSAS Adoption on Governance Quality: Evidence from Developing and Developed Countries," Public Organization Review, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 305-324, March.
    5. Lassou, Philippe J.C. & Hopper, Trevor & Ntim, Collins, 2021. "How the colonial legacy frames state audit institutions in Benin that fail to curb corruption," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    6. Jayasinghe, Kelum & Adhikari, Pawan & Soobaroyen, Teerooven & Wynne, Andy & Malagila, John & Abdurafiu, Noah, 2021. "Government accounting reforms in Sub-Saharan African countries and the selective ignorance of the epistemic community: A competing logics perspective," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eme:aaajpp:aaaj-03-2016-2477. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.