Digital transformation in public sector auditing: between hope and fear

This paper explores the imaginaries of public sector auditors on public value creation due to digital transformation (DT). The study is based on the case of the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI) in Norway – the Office of the Auditor General (OAG). We find diverging imaginaries regarding the potential impact of DT on creating public value through enhancing public accountability that represent the gap between technological hopes and human fears regarding DT for public value creation. This gap highlights the need to properly explore the downsides of DT in the theory and practice of public sector auditing.