Serge Morel     P.O. Box 17222     Sarasota, FL   34276-0222 Fax:   (941) 378- 8008     e-mail:   serg@gte.net 9/20/2000 Page 454 of 579 radcliff.htm http://les.man.ac.uk./cpa96/papers.htm/ radcliff.htm#113 6/19/99 10:41 AM INTRODUCTION   THE ISSUE OF ÔSPECIALÕ REPORTS EMPIRICAL BACKGROUND ÔSpecial AuditsÕ in Alberta CONCEPTUALIZING SPECIAL AUDITS Competing Rationalities Formal and Substantive Rationality in Government Auditing THE CASE OF NOVATEL Understanding the Case Considering NovAtel LEARNING FROM NOVATEL The Politics From Politics to Business The Auditors Audit Findings The Formal and the Substantive CONCLUSIONS The Two Rationalities: Constrained Audit Language and Outcomes Further Research BIBLIOGRAPHY Competing Rationalities in ÔSpecialÕ Government Audits: The Case of NovAtel Vaughan S. Radcliffe, Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University 10900 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio, USA, Tel.: (216) 368 2051 - Fax.: (216) 368 4776 Internet: vsr3@po.cwru.edu Competing Rationalities in ÔSpecialÕ Government Audits: The Case of NovAtel Abstract Government auditorsÕ mandates have been little explored in the accounting literature. This paper examines distinctive aspects of the public sector audit, by critically analyzing the use of audit mandates that allow politicians to specifically request that government auditors conduct special audit inquiries. Though comparatively little used, these provisions are now common in government auditing legislation. They provide an opportunity to study the consequences of auditors acting at the request of the executive   1 of 20 radcliff.htm http://les.man.ac.uk./cpa96/papers.htm/ radcliff.htm#113 6/19/99 10:41 AM