Evolution of a public sector audit office: Evidence from the Republic of Fiji

Abstract

The Office of the Auditor General, Republic of Fiji was founded in 1970 on audit principles and national laws inspired by its former British colonial power. The Fijian Office operates in a challenging national context of coupdetermined regimes, military authority and ethnicallydividing social practices. The purpose of this study is to uncover the processes and dynamics that explain how this Office remains a stable institution despite its challenging environment. We seek to understand how members of Fiji's Office of the Auditor General comprehend their role, find meaning in their actions and negotiate their authority in the context of powerful others. Our approach is qualitative and employs data from 28 interviews conducted over 12 years and historical documents. Our findings take into account wider social processes and reveal that through shared commitment and international associationism the Office of the Auditor General comes to absorb the norms and values of its westernised professional organizations. The contribution of the study is in revealing how external professional bodies and an empowered internal rationale can construct an institutional discourse that offers the potential for social stability even where local resistance is strong.