Walking a fine line: Examining the position of the construction quality auditor through the lens of financial audit literature

Internal and external quality auditors must perform a complex balancing act requiring good judgement, interpretation, emotional intelligence, and empathy to achieve several, often conflicting, objectives. The position of the auditor in the financial sector has been examined in the literature in detail; however, in the construction sector this area has been largely unexplored, a gap in knowledge that this paper aims to help fill. This review considers Power's theory of 'The Audit Society' and the rich financial auditing literature to examine the position and actions of internal and external construction quality auditors. The findings show that the audit is a complex construction of performance and judgement and that the 'facticity' of the audit should not be taken for granted. Auditor independence and competence can be difficult to achieve within the current construction quality regulatory system. Construction quality auditing takes place behind closed doors - greater exposure is needed of auditing practice.