Title: Corporate%20Governance%20of%20Maori%20Organizations%20in%20Aotearoa/New%20Zealand%20Acknowledgements:%20Professor%20Whatarangi%20Winiata%20FIRST%20Foundation%20Rahera%20Barrett-Douglas%20Kurukuru%20Barrett%20Anthony%20Tawhiwhi%20Barrett
1Corporate Governance of Maori Organizations in
Aotearoa/New ZealandAcknowledgements
Professor Whatarangi WiniataFIRST Foundation
Rahera Barrett-DouglasKurukuru Barrett
Anthony Tawhiwhi Barrett
- Dr Mereana Barrett
- Department of Accounting and Finance
- Monash University Gippsland Campus
- Switchback Road, Churchill
- Victoria 3842, Australia
2Structure
- Maori Traditional Notions of Corporate
Governance and the Impact of the Companies Act
1860 and 1882 - Dilemma that face Maori/indigenous researchers
when working within monocultural institutions
that are founded on a collective denial of
indigenous peoples history - Need to develop a Maori accounting and
accountability framework - Importance of Implementation
3Firth, R., Tawney, R. H., Owen, R. E. (1959).
Economics of the New Zealand Maori. Wellington
Govt.Printer. Wellington Govt.Printer.
Te Rangi Hiroa Buck (cited in Firth et al., 1959)
provides his description of the method of netting
inanga/fish from canoes. When the canoes came
ashore with their catch, the women were waiting
with baskets and all received their share. Te
Rangi Hiroa Buck writes that in those communal
days, nobody went away empty, but at the same
time, a distinction was made in favour of the
workers. As was usual, a man was appointed to
portion out the catch and doled out the fish in
double handfuls into the waiting receptacles. It
was necessary that he be an upright person who
would not favour his own relatives and provide
them with an unduly large share.
4Firth, R., Tawney, R. H., Owen, R. E. (1959).
Economics of the New Zealand Maori. Wellington
Govt.Printer. Wellington Govt.Printer.
Te Rangi Hiroa Buck (cited in Firth et al., 1959)
provides his description of the method of netting
inanga/fish from canoes. When the canoes came
ashore with their catch, the women were waiting
with baskets and all received their share. Te
Rangi Hiroa Buck writes that in those communal
days, nobody went away empty, but at the same
time, a distinction was made in favour of the
workers. As was usual, a man was appointed to
portion out the catch and doled out the fish in
double handfuls into the waiting receptacles. It
was necessary that he be an upright person who
would not favour his own relatives and provide
them with an unduly large share.
5Firth, R., Tawney, R. H., Owen, R. E. (1959).
Economics of the New Zealand Maori. Wellington
Govt.Printer. Wellington Govt.Printer.
Te Rangi Hiroa Buck (cited in Firth et al., 1959)
provides his description of the method of netting
inanga/fish from canoes. When the canoes came
ashore with their catch, the women were waiting
with baskets and all received their share. Te
Rangi Hiroa Buck writes that in those communal
days, nobody went away empty, but at the same
time, a distinction was made in favour of the
workers. As was usual, a man was appointed to
portion out the catch and doled out the fish in
double handfuls into the waiting receptacles. It
was necessary that he be an upright person who
would not favour his own relatives and provide
them with an unduly large share.
6Accounting Auditing Process
- The Companies Act 1860 and 1882
- Provided for further legal modernization
- Accounting used as a tool to aid in the further
confiscation of Maori Land. - Lack of safeguard for share holders in this case
hapu (sub tribe) and iwi (tribe) was a weakness
because of the separation of ownership and
management.
7Dilemma for Maori/Indigenous Researchers
- Monocultural Institutions
- Collective denial of indigenous peoples
- Endeavoring to understand the experiences of
Maori organizations and traditional corporate
governance within a Maori theory and Maori
Kaupapa methodology is important.
8Maori Notions of Accounting and Accountability
- Treaty of Waitangi provided an implied
constitutional basis for a distinct set of
institutions and underpins the model of corporate
governance which is unique to Maori
9Maori Concepts of Accounting
- Arguably, few attempts have been made to
implement a Maori accounting and accountability
framework within a Maori organization. One
participant commented - Maori accountability now if youre looking at
Maori youre really asking the question to what
extent are those organizations Maori. Where do
they come from? What purposes do they serve?
What are the people doing? How is that being
organized? Then you can start asking the
questions what kind of accounting and
accountability.
10Maori Accounting
- There is a big difference between Maori and
accounting and Maori accounting. Maori
accounting is precisely that it would be the
accounting that Maori would do today and they did
yesterday and all the years before throughout
history if our development had been uninterrupted
to the extent that we had retained our
repositories of knowledge. -
-
11What is Maori Accounting?
- if you can say that the kind of accounting that
Maori do today has a different history from the
accounting that Maori would have done if they had
an uninterrupted history a less disturbing and
devastating history then youve got two different
things ...
12Interviews
- you have two different possible pathways so you
know what the question is the question is How
are Maori performing in these new accounting? or
this post or capitalist accounting? and if
youre looking at that, then its fine
13Continued..
- there is any amount of literature that we can
go back as Maori and trace the development of
Western accountants, there is an uninterrupted
process in the evolution and development of
Western thought and material production. Now the
problem is for Maori, or any other
disenfranchised body of people, were unable to
do that because our libraries are empty
14Continued..
- but if the question is What is Maori
accounting? What is it about Maori accounting
from an uninterrupted history? thats a
different question and unfortunately, I think
that weve convinced ourselves that the
accounting we do today, so long as Maori are
doing it, and giving it a twist and shine here
and there, then thats been passed off as Maori
accounting