Living in two worlds: Sir Hēnare Ngata, the first Māori Public Accountant in Aotearoa New Zealand (1917-2011)

Abstract

Sir Hēnare Ngata was the first Māori Public Accountant in New Zealand in 1949. Using a biographical approach, we explore his accounting career and the use of his knowledge of the Indigenous and Anglocentric worlds to empower his wider community. The research utilises a career-crafting theoretical framework, archival sources and unstructured, in-depth conversations and meetings conducted with family and work associates to examine his role in the Māori community and impact as an accountant. Career crafting analysis reveals how Sir Hēnare Ngata combined Māori culture, Māori practices and beliefs with the tools of Anglocentric accounting and knowledge of Māori land law to support Māori in navigating land development, business financial requirements and policies and programmes. He made a significant contribution to mana Māori, bicultural management practices and Māori economic development. His bicultural approach combining the holistic Māori worldview and Anglocentric accounting provides rich insights for those involved in social and environmental accounting and governance reporting.