Actorhood of the European Court of Auditors: Visual Analysis

This paper explores how public audit institutions establish themselves as distinct actors on the public stage by the means of communication practices. By focusing on the journey of the European Court of Auditors (ECA), this paper addresses the research question: how does a transnational audit institution construct its actorhood through visual communication practices? Theoretically framed in 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 from its inception in 2009 until 2019. The visual analysis is conducted by the means of content analysis and two-step cluster analysis. By showing how combination of different visual artefacts have evolved over time this study highlights how transnational public audit institutions, such as the ECA, construct their actorhood and positions themselves on the stage. It further reveals the underlying legitimacy mechanisms through which organizations such as the ECA position themselves in the public eye. This study sheds light on how individuals and their contexts are depicted in interaction with each other and how this interaction reveals the development of the actorhood journey of the ECA over time.