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The auditing profession has been an important feature of industrialized economies for many years. The manner in which the auditing profession is regulated in the insurance industry, therefore, is worthy of investigation in light of the recent collapse of Heath International Holdings (HIH) which is currently recorded as the biggest corporate collapse in Australia's history. Two questions remain: did the HIH auditors carry out the work ethically and responsibly? Did the regulators fulfill their responsible roles? Among all factors that have led to the collapse of HIH, that of the auditor's role and the auditing profession's ethics has assumed particular importance.

This paper aims to expose the gap between rationalist banking theory and actual practice within the Agricultural Lending Division of the Fiji Development Bank (FDB) by focusing on the inter‐relationship between power and knowledge.

Data for this qualitative research project were gathered from archived documents, interviews, observation and reflection. A Foucauldian theoretical framework was used, which acknowledged the impact of social, economic and political factors within the bank's historical context.

In practice non‐rationalist factors play a vital role in decision making and the development of mechanisms of accountability within the FDB. The bank's policies and procedures have ultimately had to strike a delicate balance between the Fijian government's development goals, profitability requirements and the formal rationalities of new public management, and the cultural realities of agricultural lending in Fiji's traditional community‐oriented society.

This study refutes a merely technocratic approach to banking research, opening up possibilities for further studies which focus on power within a socio‐historic context.

The findings of this study challenge banks to acknowledge the subjectivity of their lending processes and to improve the accountability of lending officers.

This paper demonstrates the credibility and usefulness of a theoretically driven qualitative research study in making visible issues that would otherwise be hidden.

The way theory is used and developed in qualitative research has been a controversial issue, since theory provides a filter through which qualitative data are interpreted, and the “story” is told. This paper aims to present a study of the Fiji Development Bank (FDB) that demonstrates the impact a different theoretical lens has on the selection and interpretation of events, the story that is produced, and the unique view of the role of accounting within its social context.

This paper examines two possible interpretations of the FDB's role under the magnifying glass of Llewellyn's five levels of theorising and the world‐view of the researchers.

An analysis of the use of theory and the level of theorising brings to light the difference theory makes to the story that unfolds. On the one hand, accounting is seen as a tool of a repressive system, an example of the outworking of a grand theory, and on the other hand, while no grand theory is overtly employed, the FDB is viewed as a unifying catalyst for the coexistence of two apparently contradictory social institutions.

This interpretation of the role and effect of theory in qualitative research is unique and contestable, but forms part of the debate that is a necessary part of the advancement of academic knowledge.

Llewellyn's claim that higher level theory develops from lower levels of theorising is challenged, and the assertion is made that grand theory is employed not as the culmination of a theoretical hierarchy, but because of the presence of a preconceived world‐view which informs the choice of theory at every level.

This paper aims to focus on a number of unexpected disclosures by major Australian banks, to highlight the subjectivity of financial reports and their failure to present an accurate portrayal of the underlying realities, and to propose that corporate governance disclosures are required to provide reassurance that financial reports are trustworthy.

Mouck's institutional framework of financial regulation portrays financial reporting as a “game” played within a set of rules. It provides insights about the subjectivity of financial reports which are illustrated with archival evidence from banks' reports and activities.

The banks' financial reports were shown, in the light of later revelations, to portray an unrealistic view of their operations. Disclosures about corporate governance practices play a strong legitimising role, enhancing perceptions that financial reports correspond with organisational realities.

This study considers a narrow population of companies within one industry. By extending the focus, greater evidence could be provided that accounting standards and financial reporting requirements have lost their connection with business practices.

In spite of financial reporting reforms, financial reports are becoming less reflective of companies' activities and performance. This questions the usefulness of accounting standards, and the effectiveness of regulatory systems. Future reforms to accounting standards need to address these issues.

The paper demonstrates the contention that the financial reports of several Australian banks fail to match the realities that lie beneath is really a broader challenge to the usefulness and credibility of Australia's system of financial reporting and regulation.