Johanna Modigsson

Describe your role and what it is that you do overall and on a day-to-day basis.

I work as an Attaché to the Swedish Member of the European Court of Auditors (ECA) in Luxembourg. We are one of the seven European institutions and the guardians of EU finances. As such, we audit the EU budget, assess EU policies, and give recommendations to the European Commission and to member states in several different policy areas. The Court consists of 27 Members, one from each member state, plus some 900 auditors and supporting staff. My role is to support the Swedish Member and to contribute to the audit tasks and reports that ECA publishes.

How did your time/education at SSE help guide you to the career journey you have embarked on?

My background is not in audit but rather in economic analysis and policy which covers many areas that shape society and the public debate, including how to support sustainable growth and high living standards, how to strengthen resilience and manage crises, and how to ensure social security and equality. I chose to study economics because I wanted to learn more about these matters. After graduating from SSE, I started working for the Swedish Fiscal Policy Council and have since worked as an economist at the Ministry of Finance and the Permanent Delegation of Sweden to the OECD. I have been preaching the importance of solid analysis as a basis for decision-making and ensuring good value for public money in all my previous jobs so in that sense working as an auditor is not that different! However, I was positively surprised at the broad range of topics that we audit at ECA, including trade, research, competition, climate, energy, health, social inclusion, financial services, humanitarian aid, security, transport and agriculture – just to mention a few.

What is exciting about your field at the moment? What are the challenges given the current climate?

The current geopolitical context, in combination with pre-existing structural issues in many member states, certainly poses a challenge for the EU. This only emphasises the importance of providing evidence-based analysis to give policymakers a sound basis for decisions. While auditors are not always the most popular people in the room, we hope that our work can contribute to more effective EU policies and taxpayer money being well spent, thereby enhancing citizens’ trust in the system. With negotiations for a new EU long-term budget underway, insights and recommendations from our work will be more relevant than ever.

What is exciting about your field at the moment? What are the challenges given the current climate?

The current geopolitical context, in combination with pre-existing structural issues in many member states, certainly poses a challenge for the EU. This only emphasises the importance of providing evidence-based analysis to give policymakers a sound basis for decisions. While auditors are not always the most popular people in the room, we hope that our work can contribute to more effective EU policies and taxpayer money being well spent, thereby enhancing citizens’ trust in the system. With negotiations for a new EU long-term budget underway, insights and recommendations from our work will be more relevant than ever.

How do you see your work/role developing in the next 5 to 10 years?

My work so far has been a steep learning curve and I hope that I can continue on a similar trajectory in the future. I have never been much for 10-year plans, so we will see what the future holds.

What is the one thing you would like people to understand about your work?

Whilst being knowledgeable about the substantive issues is key to doing your job well, it is not enough. To be impactful and relevant in any job, but especially in the area of public policy, you also need good communication and negotiation skills, (political) intuition and some common sense.

Following your time studying, do you have any words of wisdom or advice you would like to share with our current students?

Do not be afraid to stray from the beaten path. Many of the career opportunities that I see now I was completely unaware of during my time as a student. There is much to be explored and many alternative career paths that do not follow a straight line. One challenge that we face in many international organisations – the EU being no exception – is the geographical imbalance and the underrepresentation of certain nationalities among the staff, including a lack of Swedes. I can only encourage SSE students who are interested in an international career to look into opportunities working for international organisations such as the EU. It can be very rewarding from both a career- and a personal development perspective.

What are three words that sum up your time at SSE?

Exhausting, energising, friendships.