The concept of taonga in Māori culture: insights for accounting

Abstract

PurposeThe 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/approachThe 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.FindingsTaonga 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/valueThe 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.