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The role of independent institutions, the relationship between independence and accountability, and the meaning and significance of these concepts in terms of democratic ideals, are issues that constitutional analysis of modem government can hardly avoid. The institutions and practice of government audit provide concrete illustrations of the complexities and dilemmas involved in such analysis.Auditors themselves conventionally distinguish internal from external audit. A widely accepted definition is that external audit means the examination of accounts and other activities, conducted from outside an organisation by an independent review body for the purpose of holding managers to account. In contrast, internal audit takes place within an organisation, to review accounting and other operations as a service to management. An internal audit unit normally operates separately from those within the organisation who are responsible for the activities under review.

Money is central to the constitution, whether the focus be effective power, legitimate authority, or both. To map the distribution of power within government it is best to begin by examining the control of money, because little of the business of government can be done without incurring expenditure of some sort. Control of money gives control of policy, either directly - because, in many fields, ‘expenditure is policy; policy is expenditure’ -or indirectly, on the principle that he who pays the piper calls the tune.

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