Finnish universities improved their productivity between 2011 and 2016. Furthermore, in 2016, Finnish universities used their resources substantially more efficiently than in the preceding years.

Changes in the general government sector and its global development were important themes at a meeting of the Governing Board of the European Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (EUROSAI) in June in Latvia.

Supreme audit institutions are meeting to discuss the future of public sector auditing as well as the strategic management and administrative tasks of EUROSAI, the European Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions.

The National Audit Office (NAOF) assesses that Finland has complied with the EU fiscal rules . The central government spending limits have also been followed. It is important in the management of general government finances that the Government sets such economic policy targets that can be monitored explicitly.

Political parties mostly comply with the funding legislation but there is still room for improvement in specific areas. Each year, the National Audit Office of Finland (NAOF) audits political party funding and the government subsidies granted to political parties (party subsidies).

Some of the central government’s risks are in danger of remaining unidentified as the number of actors increases. Today, the National Audit Office of Finland (NAOF) publishes its annual report in which it presents to Parliament its key observations on central government finances and governance.

Cooperation between the authorities is a central method to safeguard emergency response services in sparsely populated areas. However, the jurisdictional boundaries of the authorities and their limited resources often make this cooperation more difficult. The Ministry of the Interior, together with other ministries responsible for security services, should make guidance related to cooperation between authorities in sparsely populated areas clearer and more consistent.

Emergency medical services are an essential part of citizen security. This has prompted the NAOF to audit the functioning of the emergency medical service chain. Concentration of the services in fewer locations, ageing of the population and the need for more services as a result will increase the need for emergency medical services. At the moment, emergency care units must manage a large number of non-urgent tasks that should be carried out in a different manner. Closer cooperation, better information collection and better planning of resources could also help to make emergency medical services more efficient.

The steering and management of digitalization are fragmented, and the knowledge base is insufficient. The Ministry of Education and Culture and the Finnish National Agency for Education should clarify the responsibilities and duties of the actors participating in the digitalization as well as the operating models, and also improve the knowledge base.

I used to study intercultural communication. It deals with the cultures of different countries, and the main idea is that cultures do not change – people need to respect different cultures and adapt their behaviour accordingly. This is why cultures need to be studied and understood, so that we can succeed in our interaction.

In the early 2000s, the heading would have been considered Mission: Impossible, like in Hollywood. We accepted the task, however, and started to renew the support services and improve their profitability. Now that we are approaching the 2020s, it’s time to study the results. The support services have become versatile expert services that produce innovations and solutions for the everyday needs of their customers in addition to their basic duties. In the change of the central government structure, the providers of support services have been a vital resource in the development of the profitability of public administration.

For the past ten years, I have signed the statement which confirms that internal control and risk management of the state comply with the requirements of the State Budget Decree. While doing that, I have wondered how the presenter of the final accounts, the person who signs the final accounts and the entire auditing organisation can ultimately be sure that all of the information included in the final accounts is fine, as they are auditing the entire central government.