Australia's major corporate collapse: Health International Holdings (HIH) Insurance "May the force be with you"

Authors

Kwai Mak, University of WollongongFollow
Hemant N. Deo, University of WollongongFollow
Kathleen A. Cooper, University of WollongongFollow

RIS ID

12528

Publication Details

Mak, K., Deo, H. N. & Cooper, K. A. (2005). Australia's major corporate collapse: Health International Holdings (HIH) Insurance "May the force be with you". Journal of the American Academy of Business, Cambridge, 6 (2), 104-112.

Abstract

Auditing disclosures play an important role within accounting reports as they provide a level of assurance to the users (public). These disclosures will be discussed in light of the collapse of Health International Holdings (HIH). The HIH collapse warranted a Royal Commission investigation and also recorded the biggest corporate collapse in Australia's history. Corporate failttres of similar magnitude such as Enron and Parmalat have occurred elsewhere and sparked)arge scale investigation and media scrutiny. In all of these corporate failures, the level or absence of disclosure has had a lot to do with the unexpectedness of the collapse. This paper analyses the HIH collapse within a Foucaldian framework to demonstrate the need for accountants and auditors to work together so as to avoid criticism of the profession arising from unexpected corporate failures in the future.

Link to publisher version (URL)

Journal of the American Academy of Business, Cambridge