This quote indicates how good practice standards
are constructed. A state auditor carries out
an initial engagement to evaluate whether performance measures disclosed by the auditee are in accordance with some socially constructed standards, however fragile the construction might be. The auditor then reports the standards that she/
he used and the results of her/his empirical investigation. A collective knowledge validation process subsequently takes place, in which auditors and interested others in other jurisdictions examine
whether these standards ‘‘make sense’’ to them.
If so, these actors may decide to use the same standards, thereby reinforcing them and contributing
to their spread. Insertion in a network of documents,
practices and beliefs results in the standards
becoming progressively perceived as universal,
rational, fundamental, and eventually even ‘‘natural’’
dimensions of performance (Porter, 1995).
Once the global network is sufficiently developed,
the validated standards provide frames of
meanings for auditors and may be used to
represent the profession to the outside world
(Power, 2003). It is through this collective process
of knowledge production and validation that
auditors become increasingly convinced, and are
perceived increasingly by others, to speak authoritatively about government performance
measurement.