The first stage of the research process requires
the selection and analysis of an episode of controversy
or crisis in the field. This could be a particular
controversy such as: the need to cut audit
costs but maintain quality; auditing efficiency
according to vague political mandates; changing
audit techniques in a climate of practitioner conservatism
and resistance; defining environmental
auditing when different definitions serve different
interest groups; steering a path between structure
and judgement in the evolution of best audit
practice; regulating auditors by a peer review system
and so on. In general, the fate of any disturbance
to a well-established field of professional
knowledge, such as auditing, is an open and complex
one. Collins (1985, chapter 6) argues that
controversy can be conceptualized as an event or
chain of events which