National Audit Office of Finland

The implementation plan for Finland's public international climate finance, drawn up by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in 2022, is no longer in effect, and it was not implemented to any significant extent. Many of the recommendations presented in the external evaluation of climate finance commissioned by the Ministry in 2023 remained without an implementation decision.

Statutory disclosures had not been filed on all external contributions received by political parties and party associations. A large number of retroactive disclosures were filed during the audits.

The determination of the amount of deferrable appropriations is steered mainly by the spending limits in annual budgeting as part of the multi-annual spending limits procedure. The transparency of budgeting is undermined by the fact that, as a rule, appropriations carried over from previous years are not presented in the budget by item. The Ministry of Finance should ensure the appropriateness and transparency of budgeting.

The reform of the EU fiscal rules is complete, but will it solve the debt sustainability challenges or add more complexity? A seminar organised of the National Audit Office of Finland (NAOF) brought experts together to assess the impacts of the reformed EU rules on fiscal policy at both the EU and national level.

The National Audit Office's work is guided by an audit and oversight plan, and its audit topics are decided by the Auditor General. The plan has now been supplemented with 20 new audit topics for the next few years. In its oversight activities, the NAOF is preparing for the combined county and municipal elections to be held in the spring.

We thank all those interested in public finances and governance for the past year. Season’s Greetings and Happy New Year 2025!