The social consequences of control: accounting for indentured labour in Fiji 1879-1920
Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management
ISSN: 1176-6093
Article publication date: 20 June 2016
Abstract
Purpose
This is a study of the social consequences of accounting controls over labour. This paper aims to examine the system of tasking used to control Indian indentured workers in the historical context of Fijian sugar plantations during the British colonial period from 1879 to 1920.
Design/methodology/approach
Archival data consisting of documents from the Colonial Secretary’s Office, reports and related literature on Indian indentured labour were accessed from the National Archives of Fiji. In addition, documented accounts of the experiences of indentured labourers over the period of the study gave voice to the social costs of the indenture system, highlighting the social impact of accounting control systems.
Findings
Accounting and management controls were developed to extract surplus value from Indian labour. The practice of tasking was implemented in a plantation structure where indentured labourers were controlled hierarchically. This resulted in their exploitation and consequent economic, social and racial marginalisation.
Research limitations/implications
Like all historical research, our interpretation is limited by the availability of archival documents and the theoretical framework chosen to examine these documents.
Practical implications
The study promotes a better understanding of the practice and impact of accounting controls within a particular institutional setting, in this case the British colony of Fiji.
Social implications
By highlighting the social implications of accounting controls in their historical context, we alert corporations, government policy makers, accountants and workers to the socially damaging effects of exploitive management control systems.
Originality/value
The paper contributes to the growing body of literature highlighting the social effects of accounting control systems. It exposes the social costs borne by indentured workers employed on Fijian sugar plantations.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful for the helpful comments provided by Professors Theresa Hammond and James Guthrie, by participants at the 6th Annual New Zealand Management Accounting Conference, 2012 and Asia Pacific Interdisciplinary Research in Accounting Conference, 2013. The authors would also like to thank Waikato Management School at the University of Waikato for funding this research.
Citation
Sharma, U. and Irvine, H. (2016), "The social consequences of control: accounting for indentured labour in Fiji 1879-1920", Qualitative Research in Accounting & Management, Vol. 13 No. 2, pp. 130-158. https://doi.org/10.1108/QRAM-04-2015-0039
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2016, Emerald Group Publishing Limited