National Audit Office of Finland

Even under the prevailing exceptional circumstances, amid one of the most serious crises of modern times, we in Finland have been able to rely on effective and efficient governance. The ministries, agencies and institutions have taken decisions rapidly and reliably to ensure continuity in central government operations.

What should you do if you know hardly anything about auditing or artificial intelligence (AI)? As new employees, we were driven by our ambition to succeed and develop audit work to meet future needs. The participants in the National Audit Office's programme for young professionals were assigned a development project that aimed at bringing AI to the agency. The project proved to be both inspiring and challenging. It was clear from the outset that, in order to succeed, we would need the help of experienced auditors.

European Supreme Audit Institutions (SAIs) have agreed to cooperate widely to generate information on the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, governments’ responses to it and the recovery from it. The National Audit Office of Finland (NAOF) has taken an active role in setting up a special COVID-19 project, coordinated jointly by the NAOs of the UK and Finland. This is in line with the main target of the international cooperation of the NAOF: how to strengthen SAIs’ preparedness to emerging issues, as well as the timeliness of audit work.

The audit will provide information on whether the Incomes Register meets the targets set for it, such as the reduction of employers’ administrative burden and the impacts of real-time income information on the operations of public authorities. In addition, the audit examines whether the problems encountered in the introduction have been solved and how the quality of the register's information content is assured. The audit aims to hear the views of not only the organizations responsible for the register but also the actors that file information and those that utilize it.

The purpose of the audit is to examine whether the renovation project of the Olympic Stadium has been appropriately managed, especially as regards the use of the discretionary government transfer and the knowledge base of monitoring. The audit examines whether the discretionary government transfers have been used appropriately and whether the process from the decision to the granting and payment of the discretionary government transfer has been appropriate. In addition, it is examined whether the internal control has been appropriate.

Government agencies and institutions comply with the joint procurement obligation well, but there are deficiencies in documenting non-compliance. When planning framework agreements, Hansel observes the goals for environmental, economic and social responsibility. However, through joint procurements, it is difficult to promote goals related to innovativeness.