New development: ‘Auditor opinions for sale’—when privatization meets the cultural ecology of corruption

Abstract

This article considers the failure of the Indonesian government to eradicate corruption by reflecting on reports from media, anti-corruption agencies, scholarly work and government institutions. Despite significant attention focusing on reducing public sector corruption, there has been a marked increase in reports of corruption. The article illustrates the rise of a new form of public sector corruption through the manipulation of audit opinions. This study contributes to the international debate around the ineffectiveness of large-scale auditing reforms in the public sector.