Flexible regulation: the birth of a qualitative audit society?

Rachel Aldred

International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy, 2008, vol. 3, issue 1, 48-65

Abstract: This article discusses the emergence of qualitative techniques of audit. In particular, it focuses on the auditing of the UK policy National Health Service Local Improvement Finance Trust (NHS LIFT), a policy that shifts provision of primary care premises to the corporate sector. In this case, far from qualitative audit representing a pluralist approach it actually signifies the regulatory capture of the National Audit Office (NAO) by powerful private and public sector interests. The article considers how this shift in regulatory techniques – including the adoption of qualitative techniques including snowball sampling, case studies and interviewing – is linked to a change in the auditor's role. Qualitative research can be appropriated and re-shaped by powerful groups.

Keywords: auditing; private finance initiatives; PFI; privatisation; qualitative research; quantification; UK policy; United Kingdom; National Health Service; Local Improvement Finance Trust; NHS LIFT; primary care premises; corporate sector; healthcare sector; National Audit Office; NAO; auditor role; regulation. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.inderscience.com/link.php?id=18529 (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ids:ijmcph:v:3:y:2008:i:1:p:48-65

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy from Inderscience Enterprises Ltd
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sarah Parker ().