Discussant's response to the role of auditing theory in education and practice;

              Discussant's Response to
The Role of Auditing Theory in Education and Practice R. K. Mautz
Ernst & Ernst
Bob Hamilton and I approach the nature, purpose, and usefulness of audit­ing
theory so differently that after reading his paper I thought it best to give him a call so we might get better acquainted. As I suspected, we had met earlier, but I still knew very little about Bob's background and experience. Interestingly enough, we have similar educational and experience histories. Both of us have commitments to and have spent considerable time in academic work; both of us have had practical audit experience. The major difference is that I have been at both of these for a considerably longer time than has Bob. To which one of us that is an advantage or disadvantage, you must decide.
Given those similar backgrounds, why is it that we should have such dif­ferent
interests, that we should approach auditing theory in such disparate ways? Our conversation suggested that Bob is not at all troubled by our differences. On the contrary, he expresses himself as thinking our differences may have use­fulness,
at least for the purposes of this symposium, in encouraging discussion. So let me note in more detail the nature of our major differences and then try to explain why I think they exist.
Different Approaches to Auditing Theory
Bob takes a broad view of auditing theory. He calls for a theory that ex­plains
the role of auditing in our economy, what it does, why the economy encourages it, what impact auditing has on the economy, why auditing exists at all, and the conditions of that existence. He writes:
... a theory of auditing should show why an economy will be better off if auditors can provide their services.
He is also greatly interested in the supply and demand for audits and notes:
Audit-like activities are a significant resource-consuming process of state verification which is assumed in most models of resource allocation mechanisms. An understanding of the nature of these activities is es­sential
to understanding why one mechanism is preferred to another.
Thus he seems to be more concerned with the functioning of the economy, with how and why the economy allocates some part of its resources to auditing, and with what the economy receives in return, than with how auditors allocate their resources, spend their time, or face their problems.
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