Introduction to the National Audit Office -- Legacies and arguments -- The establishment of the NAO under Sir Gordon Downey 1983-1988 -- Sir John Bourn 1988-97 : navigating a world of many subtle shades of grey -- John Bourn and the New Labour era 1997-2008 -- Amyas Morse 2009-2019 -- Gareth...

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...