This text argues that the rise of auditing has its roots in political demands for accountability and control. Michael Power argues that the new demands and expectations of audits live uneasily with their operational capabilities.
Since the early 1980s there has been an explosion of auditing activity in the United Kingdom and North America. Why has this happened? This book is the first systematic exploration of "audit" as a principle of social organization and control. The author critically examines the reasons, means, and consequences of this audit explosion. He raises important questions about the efficacy of audit processes and suggests that the consequences of this must be carefully evaluated.
This is a book for the times. It will resonate instantly with hard-pressed UK public-sector professionals. It is wede-ranging and perceptive, s howing the fruitfulness of Power's original training in criticalphilosophy combined with his later specialization in financial accounting. The book provides the most coherent challenge to the audit explosion that has been offered to date. - Christopher Hood. Journal of Public Policy. 18/1/1998.
