The National Audit Office of Finland

1. The National Audit Office of Finland Teemu Kalijärvi Astana, 8.4.2010

2. National Audit Office of Finland (NAOF) – The Conscience of Public Finances • is the Supreme Audit Institution of Finland • is an independent constitutional authority in affiliation with the Parliament (Section 90 of the Constitution) • audits state’s (central government and related entities) finances and financial management in order to ensure that public funds are spent and managed wisely, in compliance with legislation and in accordance with the will of the Parliament • oversees the legality concerning the transparency of election campaign finances and political party financing • promotes trust to the functioning of the rule of law and democracy in public finances and in public decision-making and to the transparency of financial relations • is led by the Auditor-General of Finland elected by the Parliament for a term of 6 years. The Auditor General reports directly to the Parliament and is the President of the NAOF

3. Constitutional independence • Independence in audit and oversight functions • The Auditor-General/NAO has the sole right to decide on the audit manuals and methods, audit and work plans, audits to be performed and on the reporting. • the Auditor-General reports directly to the Parliament (plenary) • tasks may be given to NAOF only by an Act of Parliament

4. National Audit Office Budget and Personnel The NAOF is situated in Helsinki, Turku and Oulu Personnel approximately 150 • 65 professional financial auditors • 58 professional performance auditors • IT –systems auditors Budget for NAOF activities 2009: 14,3 million euro

5. History of the National Audit Office • History of auditing state funds in Finland dates back to year 1695, when an independent office called Kamarirevisio was founded to control the finance administration of the Kingdom of Sweden-Finland. • The National Audit Office is considered to be founded originally in 1824, when an act on Public Court of Control and act on Public Office of Control were enacted. • The foundation for the modern auditing system of state funds was created when a constitution of Finland came into operation in 1919. • The function of so called Revision Institute began in subordination of the Ministry of Finance in 1924. • In late 1940’s the auditing system was revised again. A new collegial auditing body, the National Audit Office, was founded in 1948. • In 2001 the National Audit Office was reformed to a new authority and resettled to be in affiliation with the Parliament.

6. Tasks of the National Audit Office • The task of the NAOF is to ensure the legality and effectiveness of the state's financial management and compliance with the budget. • The NAOF carries out its audit task by performing financial audit, other compliance audits and performance audit. • All fields of audit are united together and they function together so, that the State's financial management becomes audited according to good auditing practice. • In addition the NAOF functions in various expert tasks related to auditing and public finances. • The NAOF also represents Finland in the international functions related to its field of activity • The NAOF oversees the legality and transparency of the election campaign finances (and political party finances) in all general elections

7. Goals of the National Audit Office Through its audit activities and audit related key expert activities the Office strives to • ensure compliance with the state budget and rules and regulations concerning financial management, • ensure that the information in reports concerning the State's economy and the development of the State functions´ policy effectiveness and functional cost-effectiveness is correct and adequate, • in its part promote policy effectiveness of the State's financial management and other related functions as well as functional good performance of the State's financial management and the State administration and • supports the implementation of general principles of good governance and good financial management

8. Audit Function of the National Audit Office • The NAOF carries out annually about 100 financial audits, additional other compliance audits and 20-30 performance audits • In addition some audits are being conducted by cooperation groups with combined methodologies. • Governance system audit (steering and control systems audit) • Fiscal policy audits: NAOF functions as fiscal policy institution and assesses the reliability of the foundations of decision-making and effectiveness of fiscal policy • Financial audit of the NAOF covers the final of central government accounts, accounts of the accounting offices and some offices performance guided by the ministry and the accounts of two funds outside the state budget. • The audit topics of performance audit are selected annually on the basis of special selected focus areas. Systematic risk evaluation is also used in selecting topics.

9. Audit standards and policies • NAOF establishes its own audit standards, methods and policies on the basis of the international ISSAI standards (www.issai.org) adopted by the INTOSAI • Comprehensive standards and procedures framework in line with the internationally accepted Supreme Auditing Standards (ISSAI) • Financial Audit Manual and Annexes • Performance Audit Manual • Risk analyses instructions • Quality management and quality assurance system

10. Additional information http://www.vtv.fi ->English Contact persons: Matters related to the organisation of the meeting in Finland Mr. Esa Tammelin, Assistant Auditor-General, International Affairs esa.tammelin@vtv.fi, tel. +358-9-4325705 Matters related to the preparation of the substantive programme and substantive issues Mr. Teemu Kalijärvi, Principal Performance Auditor teemu.kalijarvi@vtv.fi, tel. +358-9-4325789