The concept of taonga in Māori culture: insights for accounting

Abstract

Purpose -The indigenous Māori culture of New Zealand offers valuable insights for the development of ideas about the concept of asset. To highlight such insights, and to encourage a rethinking, this paper aims to explore the meaning of the closest Māori term to asset, taonga. Design/methodology/approach -The critical review the authors conduct fuses Western literature-based scholarship with an indigenous scholarly method that utilises oral information and the written literature of Māori scholars who have recognised traditional and scholarly credentials. Findings -Taonga includes a sacred regard for the whole of nature and a belief that resources are gifts from the gods and ancestors for which current generations of Māori are responsible stewards. Taonga emphasises guardianship over ownership, collective and co-operative rights over individualism, obligations towards future generations, and the need to manage resources sustainably. Originality/value -The insights offered by Māori culture are beneficial in addressing a range of vexing environmental and social issues in ways that embrace a broader set of principles than those based on individual property rights and economic values.

Accountability reporting objectives of Māori organizations

“…The effective power of mana comes from reciprocal social relationships and kinship bonds with parents, whānau [family], hapū and iwi. Possession of taonga [anything highly prized such as traditional Māori land] enhances mana and gives a person or group a sense of self in the community (tūrangawaewae) (Firth, 1959;Craig et al,, 2013;Wild, 2013).…”

“…These organizations adhere to a general core of beliefs that value spirituality, collective ownership, connectedness to the land, and preservation of the natural and physical environment in honour of past generations and for future generations. In contrast, conventional accounting thought and practice is dominated by the ideologies of Western capitalism, based on an "… ambient view of human endeavour that is characterized by tangibility, individualism, short-termism, competition, material achievement, independence, and profit" (Craig et al, 2013), p. 6).…”

Should NPOs Follow International Standards for Financial Reporting? A Multinational Study of Views

“…• the recognition and measurement of assets which generate little or no economic benefit for the NPO, for example heritage assets (Davies 2012;Craig, Taonui, & Wild 2012);…”

Accounting for Heritage, Cultural and Community Assets – Alternative Metrics from a New Zealand Māori Educational Institution

“…These metrics, incorporating cultural, environmental and social as well as economic values, provide stakeholders with useful information with which to measure accountability against the specific outcomes established by the objectives of the organisation. These values form a contextual matrix that prioritises long-term over short-term objectives, inter-generationality, communitarian over individual ownership, and emphasises the permanent community utility of cultural assets, rather than their economic value, fungibility and transferability (see, for example, Craig, et al, 2012).…”