Public sector audit in contemporary society: A short review and introduction

• Published date: 01 May 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/faam.12191
• Author: Åge Johnsen
• Date: 01 May 2019

Received: 18 February2019 Accepted: 18 February2019

DOI: 10.1111/faam.12191

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Public sector audit in contemporary society:

A short review and introduction

˚

Age Johnsen

Oslo Business School, OsloMet–Oslo

Metropolitan University, P.O. Box4 St Olavs

plass, Oslo, Norway

Correspondence

˚

AgeJohnsen, Oslo Business School, Faculty of

SocialSciences, Oslo Metropolitan University,

P.O.Box 4 St Olavs plass, NO-0130 Oslo, Norway.

Email:Aage.Johnsen@oslomet.no

Abstract

This article gives a short review of recent research on public sec-

tor audit, and then introduces six articles in a special issue on

public sector audit in contemporary society. Many countries have

developed their audit institutions and expanded the audit activities

in particular since the 1980s. New public management and the the-

ory of the ‘audit society’ explain much of this developmentwell, also

in some international organizations, but some countries have also

experienced a contraction in the audit activities in the public sec-

tor. Moreover, literature on public sector audit outside the Anglo-

American and North European contexts, and especially from Africa,

Asia and Latin-America, is limited. There are big variations in how

audit institutions are organized, in what they produce, in their rela-

tions to stakeholders and media, and in their impacts on organiza-

tions and society.Overall, auditors are little active in the fight against

corruption, and the Napoleonic court system for organizing supreme

audit institutions seems to be little effective. The audit institutions

in the Anglo-American and Nordic accountability regimes seem to

be relatively effective, but the recent research show that auditors'

independence and relevance are persistent challenging issues in

public sector audit.

KEYWORDS

contemporary society,introduction, public sector audit, review, spe-

cial issue

This journal has published extensively on public sector audit since the journal was established in 1985. Being interna-

tional and multidisciplinary, its coverage of financial management, accounting and resource management in govern-

ment, the public sector and non-profit organisations, has given the journal a solid base for documenting and analysing

the development in public sector audit. The new public management (NPM) since 1979 has emphasised attention to

outputs and outcomes, and transparency and accountability (Hood, 1995). This journal has therefore been a much-

used outlet for research on the development in performance management including audit in the public sector overthis

40-year period. See, for example,Glynn (1985) and English and Skærbæk (2007).

Financial Acc & Man. 2019;35:121–127. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/faam c

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