What is it about?

Accounting can be an emancipatory technology, assisting marginalised groups to overcome discrimination. However, in this case, government officials stole or otherwise misappropriated funds of indigenous Australians and the subversion or required accounting and audit processes permitted these thefts to go undetected and the perpetrators to remain unpunished. Adequate compensation still has not been paid to the indigenous Australians, and their families, who suffered from these thefts.

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Why is it important?

This case highlights how entrenched discrimination can subvert required accounting and auditing practices to enable oppression of marginalised groups.

Perspectives

This research made us incredibly angry. How our country, which purports to be a just and fair society, could condone such blatant discrimination against the most disadvantaged groups in our society and, when the theft was discovered, not offer fair compensation to the victims.

Andrew Farley Read
University of Canberra

Read the Original

This page is a summary of: “This degrading and stealthy practice”, Accounting Auditing & Accountability Journal, February 2018, Emerald,
DOI: 10.1108/aaaj-10-2014-1839.
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