Actorhood of the European Court of Auditors: a visual analysis

Abstract

PurposeThis paper explores how public audit institutions establish themselves as distinct actors on the public stage through communication practices. By focussing on the journey of the European Court of Auditors (ECA), this paper addresses the following research question: how does a transnational audit institution construct its actorhood through visual communication practices?Design/methodology/approachUsing the theoretical framework of actorhood theory and inspired by the visual accounting methodology, this study explores the ECA actorhood journey through the visual analysis of front pages of its official journal (ECA Journal) from its inception in 2009 up to 2019. The visual analysis is conducted through content analysis and a two-step cluster analysis.FindingsBy showing how combinations of different visual artefacts have evolved over time, this study highlights the ways transnational public audit institutions, such as the ECA, construct their actorhood and position themselves on the public stage. It further reveals the underlying legitimacy mechanisms through which organisations such as the ECA position themselves in the public eye.Originality/valueThis study sheds light on the depiction of individuals and their contexts in interaction with each other and how this interaction reveals the development of the actorhood journey of the ECA over time.

The European Court of Auditors

“…The introduction of a designated portfolio on institutional relations in 2012, taken on by a member, put an end to the long-lasting tradition that reserved to the President all external relations. The ECA's outreach policy has been strengthened with the publication of an in-house journal since 2012, which has adopted a markedly more academic profile since 2020 and can be understood as yet another tool in ECA's 'self-claim to actorhood', Uman et al (2021) argue. On the other hand, the shift towards performance audit since the mid-1990s is widely assessed as a sign of politicisation (Groenendijk, 2004;Stephenson, 2015;2017a).…”

Changing the boundaries of public sector auditing

“…Finally, two studies examine a specific SAI. Uman et al (2023) finds the European Court of Auditors positions itself as a social and human actor and opts for a social actorhood over a professional actorhood. Dionisijev et al (2023) examines the SAI in the Republic of North Macedonia and find that while it has grown substantially over the last 20 years, a number of audit recommendations are not being implemented.…”

“…Finally, two studies examine a specific SAI. Uman et al . (2023) finds the European Court of Auditors positions itself as a social and human actor and opts for a social actorhood over a professional actorhood.…”

“…The comparative paper of Kontogeorga and Papapanagiotou (2023) based of 37 OECD countries seeks to understand whether the organisational structure of SAIs affects the perceived level of corruption and trust in government. The visual study of Umans et al . (2023) finds that the European Court of Auditors (ECA) positions itself as a social and human actor and opts for a social actorhood over a professional actorhood.…”

Supportive leadership and job satisfaction at the European Court of Auditors

“…It serves as an external auditor of the EU budget and collaborates with the national supreme audit institutions in a spirit of trust while maintaining its independence (Stephenson, 2017). The ECA is responsible for delivering accountability and oversight (Uman et al, 2022). It is a peculiar organisation whose leadership, organisational practices and treatment of employees are worth investigating to further our understanding of the relationship between supportive leadership and job satisfaction.…”