Skip to main content
Kent Academic Repository

Negotiating the Credibility of Performance Auditing

Funnell, Warwick N., Wade, Margaret (2012) Negotiating the Credibility of Performance Auditing. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 23 (6). pp. 434-450. ISSN 1045-2354. (doi:10.1016/j.cpa.2012.04.005) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:31050)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cpa.2012.04.005

Abstract

This paper reports the results of a longitudinal field study of a performance audit which used in-depth interviews and observation to examine the process by which auditees and auditors in the Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) negotiated their relationship. The findings enhance understanding of auditee reactions to both the practice of performance auditing and the auditors themselves and the impact that these have on the credibility of performance auditing. Using the lens of Oliver's typology of strategic responses, the study confirmed the prevalence of auditee responses to performance auditing by the ANAO which ranged from co-operative acquiescence and co-operation to confrontational defiance. The paper addresses recent and ongoing calls for more studies of public sector auditing in action to deepen our understanding of the responses or manoeuvring of auditors and auditees during the process of performance auditing. A key contribution of the paper is confirmation that performance auditing continues to be a contested activity and its credibility in practice remains uncertain. The empirical (and historical) evidence suggests that audits that are perceived as especially politically sensitive can provoke active forms of resistance, including avoidance and defiance. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1016/j.cpa.2012.04.005
Additional information: Unmapped bibliographic data: PY - 2012/// [EPrints field already has value set] AD - School of Accounting and Finance, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia [Field not mapped to EPrints] AD - Faculty of Business and Government, University of Canberra, Australia [Field not mapped to EPrints] JA - Crit. Perspect. Account. [Field not mapped to EPrints]
Uncontrolled keywords: Accountability, Auditee response, Critical, Performance auditing, Public sector
Subjects: H Social Sciences
H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions: Divisions > Kent Business School - Division > Department of Accounting and Finance
Depositing User: Catherine Norman
Date Deposited: 28 Sep 2012 11:51 UTC
Last Modified: 16 Nov 2021 10:08 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/31050 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

  • Depositors only (login required):

Total unique views for this document in KAR since July 2020. For more details click on the image.