The audit expectations gap—plus ca change, plus c'est la meme chose?

This paper explores the response of the accounting profession to the audit expectations gap, with primary reference to the profession's behaviour in the United Kingdom during the period of the last 20 years. Starting from a brief examination of the history of expectation concerns over a somewhat longer period, it is argued that both the existence of a gap and the specific aspects of audit performance it comprises have shown considerable continuity and resilience against solution. The profession's response to the expectations gap are then discussed, considering them as interrelated with, rather than independent of, the nature of professional interests. Two main strategies of response are identified: a defensive approach focusing on education and reassurance of the public; and a constructive approach, seeking to convey a willingness to change audit activities to meet public concern. The paper evaluates these responses, and their likelihood of success in reducing expectations problems, in the context of the inherent conflicts in the structure of auditing as a self-regulated activity,