(In)Dependence in Meta-Organisations: The Dynamics of Independence within the European Accreditation Infrastructure

Independence and independent auditing is seen as the ruling ideal within accreditation, described as the process by which an authoritative organisation gives a formal recognition that a certifier is competent, and the audit society as a whole. When reading regulations and strategies which auditing organisations are required to follow; an independent and objective activity is central. In 2008, the European Commission (EC) established a European accreditation infrastructure to assure the quality and safety of goods within the internal market and a harmonized European accreditation service, which changed the European audit society and the roles of accreditation organisations within Europe. A meta-organisation – European co-operation for Accreditation (EA) – was established with the national accreditation bodies as its members. The notion of independence becomes interesting in this constellation, as the national accreditation bodies are obliged to be members of the EA and follow certain requirements according to the Regulation 765/2008. Thus, the membership of the EA can be seen as a form of dependence. Earlier studies show that difficulties with independence in accreditation can be managed through the involvement of, and dependence on, additional organisations and audits in terms of escalating control structures (Brunsson et al., 2015; Gustafsson & Tamm Hallström, 2013; Tamm Hallström & Gustafsson, 2014).

The aim of the paper is to add to the understanding of independent auditing in a European perspective, by studying the membership as a possible way of organising the difficult task of being ‘an independent auditor’. Analytical questions raised in the paper touches how a membership in the EA may affect the experienced independence in the national accreditation bodies; the dynamics of autonomy in meta-organisations; and the membership in the EA as a possible providing factor of legitimacy for independent auditing.