Performance audit at the Swedish Supreme Audit Institution (SAI)

Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) constitute important democratic institutions, providing citizens with an independent analysis on how the Governmental Offices and the central public administration function. This paper reports on findings from a survey, submitted to all performance auditors at the Swedish SAI, on 3 May, 2011. The response rate was 70 per cent (65 out of 93 respondents). The survey covered areas such as SAI performance, organisational culture, organisation design, leadership and audit approach. Although confidence in the three Auditors-General has increased considerably since new appointees have replaced these posts, serious problems are pointed out in other areas. Specifically, three areas stand out: SAI performance, SAI organisation and finally SAI compliance with international standards as well as with the Swedish Constitution. Only 3 out of 62 respondents believe that the number of managers at the Swedish SAI is reasonable and 5 out of 65 respondents believe that the organisation design works well. Only 23.8 per cent of respondents believe that the SAI itself meets the standards that it requires other agencies to meet and 26.7 per cent of respondents believe that the costs for the Swedish SAI are reasonable

Impact at any price? The National Audit Office (NAO) and the media

In National Audit Offices (NAOs), impact is often used as a measure of success, serving to build legitimacy. When aiming to maximize impact, the media tends to play an important role. Based on empirical observations from the Swedish NAO, this paper explores how the role of the media for a NAO can be understood, and how this may affect independence. It is suggested that impact can be understood either as the media coverage of an audit (media impact), or the measures that an audit result in (measure impact). Two interpretations of the media are discussed: (i) Media as an information channel, and (ii) media as a means of bringing pressure to bear among audit objects and members of Parliament. In the Swedish NAO, the Auditor-Generals strived to maximize media impact, in order to gain measure impact, partly because a response to audits was not compulsory. Auditors in the Swedish NAO requested that the media should be understood rather as an information channel, and that impact should not be seen as an important measure, in accordance with the Constitutional school. Implications for independence are discussed. In the Swedish NAO, auditors witnessed about an excessive focus on problems and sensational conclusions, and on producing non-contestable results, following a strong media orientation. It is concluded that the price of media impact is independence, in the Swedish case

In the Absence of a Public Accounts Committee: The Swedish Experience

Sweden is one of the countries which does not have a Public Accounts Committee. Since the Swedish National Audit Office was formed in 2003, two non-PAC models for the channelling of audits to Parliament have been tested. This chapter discusses the Swedish experience from these. It suggests that one reason why Sweden has avoided forming a PAC is the wish to preserve a political culture focused on collaboration and pragmatic improvement, rather than confrontation and accountability debates. The current model is successful in this regard. Findings emphasise the importance of a fit between political culture and systems for accountability

Employee Objections to Organizational Change: A Framework for Addressing Management Responses

Research on organizational change often focuses on the nature and causes of employee objections to change, typically referred to as resistance. This paper explores managerial assumptions in this regard, suggesting a conceptual framework whereby employee objections are understood as whistle-blowing, opinion, resistance/trauma or resistance/disposition. Furthermore, it shows how each position provides legitimacy to a specific management strategy. The framework provides a tool to understand managerial attitudes and strategies, as well as how these attitudes may be understood as rhetoric or self-rationalizations

The Case for Methodological Individualism in Agency Autonomy Research

Over the past few decades, the literature on agency autonomy has increased rapidly. It still struggles, however, to find solid evidence for specific factors explaining variations in autonomy. This paper argues that a reason for this is basic assumptions in this line of research, and more specifically the tendency to focus on factors on the collective level. Using the distinction between methodological individualism and methodological collectivism, the paper describes how autonomy research could be enhanced by also including issues relating to the individual and his/her relations, thereby recognising the importance of dynamics on the micro level. This approach to autonomy challenges the methods typically adopted in this line of research and suggests that more in-depth qualitative studies are pursued. Furthermore, it challenges the prevailing assumption that agency autonomy is relatively stable over time. Instead, it opens up the possibility that agency autonomy may actually fluctuate rather rapidly, perhaps even constantly, depending on the actions and attitudes of key individuals. While arguing the case for methodological individualism in agency autonomy research, thus, this paper aims to open up for a new stream of research in the literature on agency autonomy, as a complement to current approaches

Resistance to change in public sector mergers

In the private as well as the public sectors, mergers are common events. Yet, research on mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is based primarily on studies from the private sector, and it is assumed that conclusions from this context are valid for any context. In this article, the characteristics of resistance in public sector mergers is explored. Resistance is a central aspect in the M&A literature, as well as in the broader literature on organizational change. Observations from two case studies of mergers in the central public administration in Sweden – the Swedish National Audit Office and the Swedish Social Insurance Agency – are reported. Five propositions are established. For instance, it is suggested that vertical resistance tends to become more extensive in public mergers than in mergers in the private sector. This vertical resistance occurs between management and employees. It can be explained partly by different standpoints as concerns the employee’s right to influence managerial decisions. This is an argument that can be legitimized by the employee by referring to whistle-blowing ethics and the role as a guardian of democracy

Resistance to change: Four interpretations

Although the phenomenon of resistance to change has gained considerable attention in organization theory over the years, the meaning of the concept is rarely discussed. In this paper, a conceptual framework is suggested that distinguishes between four interpretations of resistance and builds upon the two variables of changeability and emotionality. Each interpretation is based on various assumptions and theoretical influences, as well as connected to different change management strategies. The framework can facilitate communication pertaining to resistance across different theoretical perspectives and help explain empirical observations related to resistance and change management strategies. Finally, observations from two case studies reveal that assumptions about resistance can shift in the course of a change process, thus indicating a dynamic dimension to the framework

Personnel resistance in public sector reform

Observations from three case studies of public sector reforms are reported. These observations concern managerial attitudes to personnel resistance, and they reveal how management talks of resistance either as an emotional reaction or as a personality trait with certain employees. Based on these assumptions it is considered legitimate to disregard employee objections. Personnel were invited to the managerial decision making process, but this functioned rather as therapy than as a channel for actual employee influence. Findings are problematic, because they challenge the ethics of the public official in modern democracies and hinder attempts at whistle-blowing. A framework distinguishing between four interpretations of resistance and corresponding decision making strategies is suggested. The framework can be used to understand and discuss different interpretations of resistance and choices pertaining to employee influence in the decision making process. It also highlights important differences as concerns how resistance tends to be understood in change management theory, as compared to how it must be understood in order to allow whistle-blowing in public sector reform

Appointments Shrouded in Mystery The profiles of ten Swedish Auditors-General

The Auditors-General can have a profound impact on the work of the Supreme Audit Institution (SAI), in terms of the quality, autonomy and efficiency of audit work. In Sweden, this recruitment is prepared by the Committee on the Constitution, before the final decision is made by Parliament. The appointment is, however, shrouded in mystery and not even candidate profile requirements are openly advertised. This lack of transparency is problematic, since the SAI is positioned at the heart of the democratic accountability process. Because Sweden has a model with ten parallel Auditors-General, there have been ten Auditors-General over the period 2003-2015. This article compares their profiles and outlines five explanations. Results show that their professional and academic qualifications have increased, whereas their experience from hands-on audit work has decreased. Results also indicate that most of the Auditors-General have been recruited from a rather narrow circle of people around the Government Offices. Five explanations are outlined. In particular, we argue that the recruitments can be understood as an expression for a wish to increase the standing of the Swedish National Audit Office (SNAO) and the quality of its work. This follows partly from an increasing awareness of the extensive powers at the hands of the Auditors-General in the Swedish model

Tillitsbaserad styrning : Ett ramverk

Detta PM föreslår ett första ramverk för begreppet tillitsbaserad styrning. En teoretisk och en praktisk definition av tillitsbaserad styrning föreslås. Baserat på en klassisk modell från den internationella tillitsforskningen antas tilliten utgå från en bedömning av tillitsvärdigheten hos motparten, givet dennes förmåga (kunskap, m.m.), dennes integritet och dennes hjälpvillighet. Det slås vidare fast att följsamhet mot lagar och regelverk är en utgångspunkt, liksom genomförande av politiskt fattade beslut, men att en tillitsbaserad styrning innebär att yrkesprofessionella bör konsulteras även i de processer som ligger till grund för lagstiftning och politikutformning. Tillitens gränser och förutsättningar diskuteras och sju konkreta modeller för denna typ av styrning föreslås. Till dessa modeller hör minskad detaljstyrning samt placering av administrativa uppgifter i särskilda administrativa funktioner. Målet är att, genom att bättre ta tillvara medarbetarnas kompetens och engagemang, åstadkomma bättre service till brukaren och ökad samverkan kring dennes behov