Introduction -- Why bureaucracy will never work -- The failure to analyse outcomes -- How effective audit can be secured : the auditor as [c]oach and mentor rather than critic and nark -- Privatisation : the alternative to bureaucracy? -- Public private partnerships : another option -- Regulations : bureaucracy's tentacles -- Meeting citizens' needs : quality of public services -- Risk averse or risk ignorant? -- Vulnerability to fraud, theft and corruption -- Programme and project management : bureaucracies' weakest link? -- Performance measurement : clarity or confusion? -- Organising the audit -- Concluding thoughts.