pdf How Public Accountability Is Institutionalized: The Case of External Public Auditing in Global Perspective Applying a Mixed Methods Approach Popular

How Public Accountability Is Institutionalized, The Case of External Public Auditing in Global Perspective Applying a Mixed Methods Approach is a 2012 doctoral dissertation by Katharina Noussi.

Abstract: This dissertation investigates the topical question how public accountability is effectively institutionalized. In order to solve this overall research puzzle I examine as a case study Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs), such as national audit offices and courts of accounts, world-wide. How do they strengthen their independence and protect themselves against outside influence? The research design of this project applies a mixed-methods approach to research consisting of four main parts: First, I justify the case study through preliminary expert interviews, a literature review and a content analysis of the International Standards of Supreme Audit Institutions. A cross-national assessment of SAIs based on data from four surveys then leads to the specific research question: Why does citizen-focused, independent, external public auditing thrive in some countries and fail in others? In the second part of this doctoral thesis I develop the argument and test it through comprehensive econometric analyses. In the third section I study the practice of reform through 17 semi-structured expert interviews with heads of SAIs. Finally I triangulate the various research findings into a common discussion and draw my final inferences. I show that while the institutional arrangements for government auditing, the nature of the source of national income, the external influence on reform, the local demand for public accountability and the technical and organizational capacities of SAIs matter; the political economy of inter-elite relations and the existence of leadership commitment by the head of the SAI ultimately explain the success or failure of reform initiatives. I close by suggesting five practical strategies for strengthening powerful accountability arrangements that endure.