Audit Culture

'A new and compelling argument for why so many institutions continue to be spellbound by rankings and metrics - despite the cultural carnage they cause in schools, hospitals, universities, corporations and governmental agencies. How can we halt this 'death by audit' craze that has swept through modern society like a deadly virus? In this thought provoking book, the authors develop a radical agenda that will strike fear into number-loving technocrats around the world.'

-- Peter Fleming, author of 'Dark Academia: How Universities Die'

'If you want to go and see a film, choose a university or find the best restaurant, you are likely to consult some sort of ranking ... In this timely work, Shore and Wright ask us to question this contemporary common sense and the market managerialism that lies behind it. Can we imagine a world without audit, one in which our choices are not counted, and trust does not rely on numbers?'

-- Professor Martin Parker, University of Bristol Business School

'The expansion of audits, indicators and rankings has become a pressing issue for governance and democracy. Cris Shore and Susan Wright build on decades of work to provide a powerful and definitive critical diagnosis of the effects of this audit culture on individuals, public organisations and society. Their book should be essential reading for scholars and policy makers.'

-- Michael Power, Professor of Accounting, London School of Economics and Political Science

'A visionary book. Two anthropologists piece together a global jigsaw: how for 25 years practices of accountability have been transforming almost every aspect of organisational and personal life. A brilliantly lucid, vigorously argued critique, clear-eyed about the structures that undermine us.'

-- Marilyn Strathern, Emeritus Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge