Michael Power, Professor of Accounting, London School of Economics

Review from previous edition The book appears just when we need it ... a valuable book. - Financial Times

This splendid book tracks what has been happening to the auditing profession in the context of the recent 'managerial turn' ... This is a breath of fresh air. - LSE Magazine

This book is valuable precisely because of the obscurity of its subject. Very little has been written about the purpose, context, or process of auditing. This book, therefore, fills a gap. I would recommend this book for managers and physicians interested in understanding and appraising more critically the role of audit in their ogranisations. - Lois Quam, BMJ Volume 316, 1998

This is a book for the times. It will resonate instantly with hard-pressed UK public-sector professionals. It is wide-ranging and perceptive, showing the fruitfulness of Power's original training in critical philosophy 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.

..subtle, stimulating and important book. - Rudolf Klein. University of Bath. 1998.