This chapter summarises the analysis of the preceding chapters. Whilst different countries use different models for their audit, some continuities do emerge. The audit explosion has led to the advance of both financial and performance audits. Inspection however remains an infrequent feature of...

English local government audit has gone through fundamental change in the last decade and this period of instability looks certain to continue. Since 2014, councils have been audited by private sector auditors appointed theoretically by the councils themselves (though an overwhelming majority of...

Public sector audit has grown in importance since the 1980s across the world. In this chapter, the authors outline the state of the current debate about public sector audit – including the role of the auditor, the purpose of audit, developments in the content of audit and the function of...