The Nordic foresight workshop arranged by the NAOF provided an overview of audit planning and the work of supreme audit institutions at international and at agency level. The goal of the workshops was to provide practical examples of the application of future-oriented thinking and to outline the next steps.

The lifecycles of different central government asset categories are managed in different ways. This is because under the existing financial management regulations, central government assets must be managed throughout their lifecycle, while at the same time, there is also room for var-iation in the way in which the regulations are applied.

The objectives set by the Government on the balancing of the general government fiscal position and reduction of the debt ratio for the parliamentary term will be reached, but additional measures are needed to promote sustainability in the long term. Fiscal planning and governance in general improved during the parliamentary term, and related legislation was developed.

One of the objectives of Prime Minister Juha Sipilä’s Government is to make Finland a pioneer in cleantech. In its audit, the National Audit Office assessed how well the policy objectives set for cleantech acquisitions have been achieved and how the related procurement process could be further developed. So far, the policy objectives have not yet been achieved.

According to the budget, the value of the Government’s fixed assets and other tangible assets is some EUR 20 billion. The Government does not have any standardised instructions on asset lifecycle management or any lifecycle cost calculation model. However, regulations state that the assets must be used in a profitable manner, which also means that the benefits and costs arising from the assets must be managed during their lifecycle. Agencies have also prepared their own instructions and calculation models to manage the lifecycle of their assets.

According to the National Audit Office, most of the objectives regarding the general government fiscal position and debt set by the Government at the beginning of the parliamentary term will be reached. This has been supported especially by the economic growth that started in 2016. The long-term sustainability gap of general government finances has not been eradicated during the parliamentary term, but it has become smaller. According to the National Audit Office’s assessment, the Government has complied with the Fiscal Policy Act and the related regulations in all essential respects.