First decades of independence

Section 71 of the Constitution of 1919 created the basis for the present dual system of external supervision and auditing of state finances. Administrative audits of the state economy are performed by the State Audit Office while parliamentary control of the state economy is performed by the Parliamentary State Auditors. According to section 71 of the Constitution of 1919:

To audit state accounts and financial statements there shall be an Audit Office, which shall determine whether numbers are correct and revenues and expenditure are in accordance with the law and whether the budget has been complied with.

The next step in the development of the state audit system was taken in 1924, when the Audit Office was combined with the Audit Council and began operating under the Ministry of Finance. The Auditor General and two senior officials at the Audit Office henceforth formed the Audit Council. The Audit Office continued to focus mainly on verifying numbers and legality.

In 1931 the Office's tasks and authority were enlarged to include organizations receiving state aids, among other things. At the same time the state's central bookkeeping was shifted from the State Treasury to the Audit Office. This task was shifted back to the State Treasury in 1965.

As a result of the changes in the state economy brought about by the Second World War and the large increase in defence expenditure, the Audit Office of the War Economy was established in 1941. This agency was abolished in 1947.