Zayyad Abdul-Baki , Ahmed Diab , Abdulraheem Olayiwola Kadir
{"title":"Resisting institutionalized corruption: The case of public audit in Nigeria","authors":"Zayyad Abdul-Baki , Ahmed Diab , Abdulraheem Olayiwola Kadir","doi":"10.1016/j.jaccpubpol.2022.107052","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In a highly corrupt environment such as Nigeria, accounting practices have been permeated by corruption in the wider society. As such, several studies on the relationship between accounting and corruption have unveiled a symbiotic association between accountants and corruption. Contrary to this popular viewpoint, this study shows that there are instances of resistance to corruption by accountants in such environments. This study adopts a multiple case study approach. We used two case studies to demonstrate the consistency of the Auditors-General for the Federation (AuGFs) in resisting institutionalized corruption and one case study to show that AuGFs’ resistance is not commonplace in Nigeria. Data were gathered from interviews, videos, and documents. We found that AuGFs resist corruption through the disclosure of accounting irregularities in their audit reports despite the severe consequences associated with exposing corrupt practices in Nigeria. However, they hide this resistance through a number of strategies to sustain the resistance and avert possible repercussions of corruption disclosure. Prior studies of accounting and corruption in developing countries often find accountants enabling corrupt practices through their silence or through active participation in such practices. However, this study shows how accountants also resist corruption in a highly corrupt developing country, which is rare in the literature.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":48070,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Accounting and Public Policy","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.3000,"publicationDate":"2023-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"2","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of Accounting and Public Policy","FirstCategoryId":"91","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278425422001156","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BUSINESS, FINANCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 2
Abstract
In a highly corrupt environment such as Nigeria, accounting practices have been permeated by corruption in the wider society. As such, several studies on the relationship between accounting and corruption have unveiled a symbiotic association between accountants and corruption. Contrary to this popular viewpoint, this study shows that there are instances of resistance to corruption by accountants in such environments. This study adopts a multiple case study approach. We used two case studies to demonstrate the consistency of the Auditors-General for the Federation (AuGFs) in resisting institutionalized corruption and one case study to show that AuGFs’ resistance is not commonplace in Nigeria. Data were gathered from interviews, videos, and documents. We found that AuGFs resist corruption through the disclosure of accounting irregularities in their audit reports despite the severe consequences associated with exposing corrupt practices in Nigeria. However, they hide this resistance through a number of strategies to sustain the resistance and avert possible repercussions of corruption disclosure. Prior studies of accounting and corruption in developing countries often find accountants enabling corrupt practices through their silence or through active participation in such practices. However, this study shows how accountants also resist corruption in a highly corrupt developing country, which is rare in the literature.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Accounting and Public Policy publishes research papers focusing on the intersection between accounting and public policy. Preference is given to papers illuminating through theoretical or empirical analysis, the effects of accounting on public policy and vice-versa. Subjects treated in this journal include the interface of accounting with economics, political science, sociology, or law. The Journal includes a section entitled Accounting Letters. This section publishes short research articles that should not exceed approximately 3,000 words. The objective of this section is to facilitate the rapid dissemination of important accounting research. Accordingly, articles submitted to this section will be reviewed within fours weeks of receipt, revisions will be limited to one, and publication will occur within four months of acceptance.