Debating the ‘Power’ of Audit

Abstract

This paper provides a critical but constructive review of Michael Power's recent text entitled The Audit Society: Rituals of Verification (1997). The paper first summarises the essential ideas put forward by Power with regard to the scale and significance of the Audit Society. It then debates some of Power's central arguments and claims, focusing, among other things, on the causes underlying the rise of the audit society, the definition of audit, the meaning of auditability and the relationship between audit and performance measurment. The paper concludes by considering the possibilities for auditing to serve a more positive role in society than that generally portrayed by Power.

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