When Compliance Replaces Accountability: How Auditing Shapes Organizational Legitimacy in Politically Exposed

Abstract

This study examines how accountability is enacted in campaign finance audits within politically sensitive environments. While prior research emphasizes audit effectiveness, limited attention has been given to how accountability is constructed under legitimacy pressures. Using an institutional and legitimacy-based perspective, this study analyses accountability as a socially embedded practice. Data were collected through interviews with auditors, documentary analysis of audit reports, and regulatory review. The findings reveal that accountability is predominantly oriented toward procedural compliance as a response to legitimacy demands. Although forensic audit techniques are selectively integrated to enhance transparency, their governance value remains constrained by weak enforcement, fragmented reporting systems, and limited verification capacity. By integrating agency, stewardship, and legitimacy perspectives, this study demonstrates how symbolic accountability persists and why compliance substitutes for substantive public assurance. The study contributes by conceptualizing accountability as an institutionalized practice shaped by legitimacy dynamics in governance contexts.