You can turn to the National Audit Office if you suspect that the financial management of a ministry or a government agency or institution has failed to comply with the law or the state budget. You can also file a complaint concerning shortcomings in party and election funding disclosures. A central government agency or institution or a state fund is obligated to report to the NAOF without delay any financial irregularities detected in its activities.
Complaints
You can file a complaint about any action that is in violation of the state budget or otherwise unlawful from the perspective of the state’s financial management. The complaint may concern a ministry as well as a government agency or institution, a state fund or an unincorporated state enterprise. You can also file a complaint about the beneficiary of a discretionary government grant or other support.
You can submit a complaint about a state-controlled company if your suspicion concerns the lawfulness of the state’s ownership steering or financial management.
A complaint may also be filed concerning the lawfulness of financial management in wellbeing services counties to the extent that the suspected irregularity concerns central government funding. You can file a complaint concerning corporations, foundations and institutions that belong to a wellbeing services county corporation or are controlled by a wellbeing services county. You can also complain about the rescue services or health and social services in the City of Helsinki, or about an entity that performs these tasks and is controlled by the City of Helsinki.
A complaint can also be filed with the National Audit Office about material shortcomings in political party and election funding disclosures.
You cannot file a complaint with the National Audit Office about decisions made by the Social Insurance Institution (Kela) or a court, or about the actions of an individual public official. The NAOF does not investigate any cases that are already being investigated by another central government authority.
Anyone may file a complaint. You can submit a complaint on a matter concerning yourself, on behalf of another person, or jointly with other people. Complaints are investigated free of charge.
To file a complaint, you can use our complaint form or send us a free-form e-mail message (kirjaamo@vtv.fi) or letter (National Audit Office of Finland, P.O. Box 1119, 00101 Helsinki).
A free-form complaint must contain at least the same information as would be provided on the complaint form. You should include information that is as specific as possible on the grounds of your complaint and any documents that support it.
Guidelines: Guidelines of the National Audit Office on submitting and processing of complaints (PDF)
Reporting irregularities
A central government agency or institution, an unincorporated state enterprise or a state fund is obligated to report to the NAOF without delay any detected abuse of the assets that are managed by it or that are in its possession.
A report on abuses or irregularities must be submitted to the NAOF even if a report of an offence were filed with the police. Any abuses and irregularities must be reported without delay. You should not wait until the final result of a police investigation, a decision by the prosecutor or the judgement of the court is available before making the report.
Reports of abuses or irregularities should primarily be made by e-mail (kirjaamo@vtv.fi). They can also be submitted by letter (National Audit Office, P.O. Box 1119, 00101 Helsinki).
Reports of abuses or irregularities are processed by a public official assigned to this task at the National Audit Office.
If necessary, guidance for filing a report is available from the NAOF’s function responsible for processing complaints and reports on irregularities by telephone (09 432 5809) or e-mail (minna.tyrvainen@vtv.fi).
Guidelines: Reporting irregularities to the National Audit Office of Finland (PDF)
Data protection, registration and publicity of documents in the processing of complaints and reports on irregularities
No personal data are collected or stored on visitors to the NAOF website.
While processing complaints and reports on irregularities, the National Audit Office accumulates both personal data and other types of information. The processing of personal data is governed by the Data Protection Act (1050/2018) and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU 2016/679).
The data subject has the right to request access to their data and demand that any inaccurate personal data concerning them are corrected. For more information and instructions on requesting access and correction of data, see the Privacy statement on the NAOF’s case and document management system.
When the National Audit Office receives a complaint or a report on irregularities, the registry staff enter the received document in the NAOF’s register. A registration number is issued to the matter. The persons handling the matter and the public official responsible for processing it are also entered in the register. An acknowledgement of receipt is sent to a person who filed a complaint electronically.
The name of the person submitting the report on an irregularity, its topic, and the date and time of the receipt of the report are entered in the register. In addition, the names of the persons who handle the matter and guide and supervise its processing are recorded. As the processing of the matter progresses, any additional information obtained and the date on which it was obtained are recorded.
As a rule, a complaint and the documents obtained in order to investigate it are public and subject to the Act on the Openness of Government Activities (621/1999). Provisions on the publicity of documents in the possession of authorities are also laid down in section 12 of the Constitution of Finland.
In some cases, a complaint or some aspects related to it may also be kept secret. The secrecy may be based on a provision of the Act on the Openness of Government Activities or a special act.
Reports of irregularities and documents related to their processing may contain secret information, especially if the processing of the matter goes further. The documents may also be kept secret on some other grounds referred to in the Act on the Openness of Government Activities.
For further details on the information entered in the register, public access to and disclosure of this information and the rights of the data subject, see the Privacy statement on the NAOF’s case and document management system.
Whistleblower protection
The Act on the Protection of Persons Reporting Infringements of European Union and National Law (the Whistleblower Act) entered into force at the beginning of 2023. The Act implements the European Union Whistleblower Directive. It aims to provide effective protection for whistleblowers who, in the course of their work, detect infringements of European Union or national statutes in cases that fall within the scope of the Whistleblower Act (in Finnish only).
The National Audit Office has set up an internal whistleblower channel for the NAOF’s current personnel. Other persons referred to in the Act (including former employees and those with a contractual relationship with the NAOF) may also submit a report on the NAOF’s activities concerning an infringement of legislation that falls within the scope of the Whistleblower Act and that they have observed in their work. These reports should be made using the centralised external whistleblower channel provided by the Office of the Chancellor of Justice.
For more information on whistleblower protection, its application and the whistleblower channel, visit the Office of the Chancellor of Justice website.
Address for filing complaints and reports on irregularities
A complaint should primarily be filed using the electronic complaint form. You can also send a free-form complaint by e-mail or mail to the NAOF’s registry. A free-form complaint must contain at least the same information as would be provided on the complaint form.
Reports on irregularities should be primarily submitted by e-mail. A report can also be submitted by letter.
E-mail address:
kirjaamo@vtv.fi
Postal address:
National Audit Office of Finland
PO Box 1119
FI-00101 Helsinki
Telephone number for further information and contacts:
+358 9 432 5895