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The future of the regulatory space in local government audit: A comparative study of the four countries of the United Kingdom

Ferry, L.; Ahrens, T.

The future of the regulatory space in local government audit: A comparative study of the four countries of the United Kingdom Thumbnail


Authors

T. Ahrens



Abstract

This paper compares audit regulatory space in local government between the UK’s four countries—England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. It addresses current arrangements and practices, their historical background, and rationales for regulation in order to derive lessons for the future of public audit. It draws on the notion of regulatory space as extended through new audit spaces that specifically include public audit. The study is based on interviews with audit professionals and policy makers in each country, extensive documentation review, and observation. The comparison is structured by four themes: ‘Organisation and fragmentation’ concerns how the system is accredited and imbued with institutional capital. ‘Independence and competition’ addresses the independence of accounting firms and auditors, ‘audit scope’ reporting, and ‘inspection’ the assessments and rankings that have become part of public audit. The four countries exhibited similar emphasis on financial audit and reporting. They treated performance and fairness aspects differently.

Citation

Ferry, L., & Ahrens, T. (2022). The future of the regulatory space in local government audit: A comparative study of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Financial Accountability and Management, 38(3), 376-393. https://doi.org/10.1111/faam.12291

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Mar 19, 2021
Online Publication Date Apr 8, 2021
Publication Date 2022-08
Deposit Date Mar 23, 2021
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Financial Accountability and Management
Print ISSN 0267-4424
Electronic ISSN 1468-0408
Publisher Wiley
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 38
Issue 3
Pages 376-393
DOI https://doi.org/10.1111/faam.12291
Public URL https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1250771

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Copyright Statement
This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Ferry, L. & Ahrens, T. (2022). The future of the regulatory space in local government audit: A comparative study of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Financial Accountability and Management 38(3): 376-393. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions.





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