The Audit Society — Second Thoughts

This essay reviews the central arguments of The Audit Society (Power, 1999) and re‐considers the causes and consequences of the audit explosion. It is argued that many of the claims require further empirical support and that more research is needed, particularly to demonstrate that the audit explosion is not simply a UK phenomenon. Although the word ‘audit’ may have decreased in significance since the book was written, the arguments can be applied to other forms of monitoring activity.