An Audit Scotland study on the financial performance of the NHS found all 23 boards met their budget targets for the fourth year running in 2011-12.

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But the government said the report had been based on a National Audit Office study which focused on "very early days" in the service, since when significant changes and a "marked improvement" had been made.

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But a study last year by the Audit Commission suggested that only half of GPs believed it was important to look for the signs of dementia, because it is incurable.

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It raises audit costs by 74%, according to a study by Baruch College professors Aloke Ghosh and Robert Pawlewicz.

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Partners typically say longer, uninterrupted relationships with audit clients improve quality more than they impair independence, according to a study by Brian E.

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The goal of that study should be to identify both the causes of and remedies for those pervasive audit failures.

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