IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/crpeac/v78y2021ics1045235418303484.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How the colonial legacy frames state audit institutions in Benin that fail to curb corruption

Author

Listed:
  • Lassou, Philippe J.C.
  • Hopper, Trevor
  • Ntim, Collins

Abstract

Supreme audit institutions are an important pillar of governance and government resource management, particularly for controlling corruption. Francophone African countries inherited these from their former colonial power, France, but their role and function are limited. This paper argues that this is partly a legacy of their colonial experience. It investigates the Chamber of Accounts in Benin, the country’s supreme audit institution, using the lenses of Ekeh (1975) two publics and legitimacy theory. Nonetheless, Ekeh’s theory needed extending to incorporate changes affecting governance after Benin’s independence. The amorality of political officials, accepted by much of Benin society, rendered the institution largely ineffective in controlling corruption. Nevertheless, civil society organizations, donors, and the World Bank and International Monetary Fund have attempted to redress this. Politicians and government officials responded by engaging in symbolic compliance to meet stakeholders’ expectations. A separate audit institution – the General Inspectorate of State – was established under the sole control of the President to gain external legitimacy and retain donors’ budget support, whilst persistent corruption and rising poverty continue. Benin’s auditing institutions have become empty crates, which sometimes facilitate rather than control corruption.

Suggested Citation

  • 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).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:78:y:2021:i:c:s1045235418303484
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2020.102168
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1045235418303484
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.cpa.2020.102168?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.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Andrews,Matt, 2013. "The Limits of Institutional Reform in Development," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9781107016330, September.
    2. Mouna Hazgui & Yves Gendron, 2015. "Blurred roles and elusive boundaries," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 28(8), pages 1234-1262, October.
    3. 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.
    4. Hopper, Trevor & Lassou, Philippe & Soobaroyen, Teerooven, 2017. "Globalisation, accounting and developing countries," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 125-148.
    5. Abu Shiraz Rahaman, 2009. "Independent financial auditing and the crusade against government sector financial mismanagement in Ghana," Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 6(4), pages 224-246, October.
    6. Lassou, Philippe J.C. & Hopper, Trevor & Tsamenyi, Mathew & Murinde, Victor, 2019. "Varieties of neo-colonialism: Government accounting reforms in Anglophone and Francophone Africa – Benin and Ghana compared," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    7. Sikka, Prem & Lehman, Glen, 2015. "The supply-side of corruption and limits to preventing corruption within government procurement and constructing ethical subjects," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 62-70.
    8. Mick Moore, 2001. "Political Underdevelopment: What causes ‘bad governance’," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 3(3), pages 385-418, September.
    9. Iyoha, F.O. & Oyerinde, D., 2010. "Accounting infrastructure and accountability in the management of public expenditure in developing countries: A focus on Nigeria," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 21(5), pages 361-373.
    10. Dean Neu & Jeff Everett & Abu Shiraz Rahaman & Daniel Martinez, 2013. "Accounting and networks of corruption," Post-Print hal-00980294, HAL.
    11. Trevor Hopper & Mathew Tsamenyi & Shahzad Uddin & Danture Wickramasinghe (ed.), 2012. "Handbook of Accounting and Development," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 13725.
    12. Everett, Jeff & Neu, Dean & Rahaman, Abu Shiraz, 2007. "Accounting and the global fight against corruption," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 32(6), pages 513-542, August.
    13. repec:bla:devpol:v:25:y:2007:i:5:p:599-614 is not listed on IDEAS
    14. Goddard, Andrew & Assad, Mussa & Issa, Siasa & Malagila, John & Mkasiwa, Tausi A., 2016. "The two publics and institutional theory – A study of public sector accounting in Tanzania," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 8-25.
    15. Neu, Dean & Everett, Jeff & Rahaman, Abu Shiraz & Martinez, Daniel, 2013. "Accounting and networks of corruption," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 505-524.
    16. Lassou, Philippe Jacques Codjo & Hopper, Trevor, 2016. "Government accounting reform in an ex-French African colony: The political economy of neocolonialism," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 39-57.
    17. repec:bla:devpol:v:24:y:2006:i:6:p:627-645 is not listed on IDEAS
    18. Neu, Dean & Everett, Jeff & Rahaman, Abu Shiraz, 2015. "Preventing corruption within government procurement: Constructing the disciplined and ethical subject," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 49-61.
    19. Andy Wynne & Stewart Lawrence, 2012. "Government Accounting in the Global South: The Design, Implementation and Use of Global Solutions for Local Needs," Chapters, in: Trevor Hopper & Mathew Tsamenyi & Shahzad Uddin & Danture Wickramasinghe (ed.), Handbook of Accounting and Development, chapter 11, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    20. Paul M Collier, 2004. "Policing in South Africa," Public Management Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 6(1), pages 1-20, March.
    21. Sara Fyson, 2012. "Accounting and Development: The Role of Donors from Policy to Practice," Chapters, in: Trevor Hopper & Mathew Tsamenyi & Shahzad Uddin & Danture Wickramasinghe (ed.), Handbook of Accounting and Development, chapter 2, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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


    Cited by:

    1. Clerkin, Brendan & Quinn, Martin & Connolly, Ciaran, 2024. "Decoupled accounting in a non-profit context: An explanation for stable management accounting?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    2. Muzanenhamo, Penelope & Power, Sean Bradley, 2024. "ChatGPT and accounting in African contexts: Amplifying epistemic injustice," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    3. Bottausci, Chiara & Robson, Keith, 2023. "“He Hears”: An essay celebrating the 25 year anniversary of The Audit Society," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    4. Hammond, Theresa & Streeter, Denise W. & Musundwa, Sedzani, 2022. "Using qualitative research to effect change: African/American accountants in Black and White," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    5. Seny Kan, Konan A. & Agbodjo, Serge & Gandja, Serge V., 2021. "Accounting polycentricity in Africa: Framing an ‘accounting and development’ research agenda," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Abdul-Baki, Zayyad & Uthman, Ahmad B. & Kasum, Abubakar S., 2021. "The role of accounting and accountants in the oil subsidy corruption scandal in Nigeria," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    2. Lassou, Philippe J.C. & Hopper, Trevor & Tsamenyi, Mathew & Murinde, Victor, 2019. "Varieties of neo-colonialism: Government accounting reforms in Anglophone and Francophone Africa – Benin and Ghana compared," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    3. Lassou, Philippe Jacques Codjo & Hopper, Trevor, 2016. "Government accounting reform in an ex-French African colony: The political economy of neocolonialism," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 39-57.
    4. Lino, André Feliciano & Azevedo, Ricardo Rocha de & Aquino, André Carlos Busanelli de & Steccolini, Ileana, 2022. "Fighting or supporting corruption? The role of public sector audit organizations in Brazil," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    5. Hopper, Trevor & Lassou, Philippe & Soobaroyen, Teerooven, 2017. "Globalisation, accounting and developing countries," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 125-148.
    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).
    7. Changwony, Frederick Kibon & Paterson, Audrey S., 2019. "Accounting practice, fiscal decentralization and corruption," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(5).
    8. Pianezzi, Daniela & Ashraf, Muhammad Junaid, 2022. "Accounting for ignorance: An investigation into corruption, immigration and the state," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    9. Ferry, Laurence & Zakaria, Zamzulaila & Zakaria, Zarina & Slack, Richard, 2018. "Framing public governance in Malaysia: Rhetorical appeals through accrual accounting," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 42(2), pages 170-183.
    10. Sargiacomo, Massimo & Ianni, Luca & D’Andreamatteo, Antonio & Servalli, Stefania, 2015. "Accounting and the fight against corruption in Italian government procurement: A longitudinal critical analysis (1992–2014)," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 28(C), pages 89-96.
    11. 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).
    12. Goddard, Andrew & Assad, Mussa & Issa, Siasa & Malagila, John & Mkasiwa, Tausi A., 2016. "The two publics and institutional theory – A study of public sector accounting in Tanzania," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 8-25.
    13. Jeppesen, Kim K., 2019. "The role of auditing in the fight against corruption," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(5).
    14. Alawattage, Chandana & Azure, John De-Clerk, 2021. "Behind the World Bank’s ringing declarations of “social accountability”: Ghana’s public financial management reform," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    15. Ferry, Laurence & Funnell, Warwick & Oldroyd, David, 2023. "A genealogical and archaeological examination of the development of corporate governance and disciplinary power in English local government c.1970–2010," Accounting, Organizations and Society, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    16. Bakre, Owolabi M. & Lauwo, Sarah, 2016. "Privatisation and accountability in a “crony capitalist” Nigerian state," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 45-58.
    17. Blane D. Lewis & Adrianus Hendrawan, 2020. "The impact of public sector accounting reform on corruption: Causal evidence from subnational Indonesia," Public Administration & Development, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 40(5), pages 245-254, December.
    18. Ndaka, Angella & Lassou, Philippe J.C. & Kan, Konan Anderson Seny & Fosso-Wamba, Samuel, 2024. "Toward response-able AI: A decolonial perspective to AI-enabled accounting systems in Africa," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    19. Norton, Simon D., 2018. "Suspicion of money laundering reporting obligations: Auditor compliance, or sceptical failure to engage?," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 56-66.
    20. Mulcahy, Mark & Beck, Matthias & Carr, Michelle & Hourigan, Niamh, 2019. "Novel approaches to the regulatory control of financial services providers: The importance of cultural context," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 51(5).

    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:eee:crpeac:v:78:y:2021:i:c:s1045235418303484. 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.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/critical-perspectives-on-accounting/ .

    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.