Defence administration

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.

There are shortcomings in the utilisation of information on the allocation of working hours in the central government. Some agencies, in practice, hardly utilise the information on the allocation of working hours. Information on the allocation of working hours should be utilised in the agency's management, development and reporting.

The preparation of projects and reforms extending beyond parliamentary and government terms has been hampered by changing objectives, inappropriate organisation of the preparatory work, insufficient resourcing and slow decision-making. When preparations are started, it should be ensured that there are sufficient prerequisites for effective preparation.

The Ownership Steering Department of the Prime Minister's Office has ensured the existence of risk management processes in companies but does not participate in them. The NAOF recommends that, if necessary, the line ministries should be involved more extensively in defining a company's strategic interest and in monitoring its implementation.

The audit found no non-compliant transactions between the central government and persons and entities related to it. Final central government accounts do not include related party reporting. Therefore, it is not possible to verify from the final accounts prepared by the accounting offices in accordance with the current legislation whether the accounting offices have had transactions with entities that could be considered to be their related parties.

In its plenary session on Friday, 10 December 2021, the Finnish Government decided that Finland will purchase 64 U.S. Lockheed Martin F-35A fighters, as well as related weaponry and other key systems. The National Audit Office of Finland will continue to monitor the Fighter Programme.

Finland has mainly succeeded well in safeguarding its security of supply during the Covid-19 pandemic. The most significant problems were related to the availability of protective equipment used in healthcare at the early stages of the pandemic. In other sectors of key importance for security of supply, Finland has managed to prevent disruptions.

The aim of the audit is to produce information on the current state of preparedness for exceptional circumstances and disruptions in Finland and to promote cost-effective resolution of problems arisen during the Covid-19 pandemic. The balance sheet of the National Emergency Supply Agency was slightly over EUR 2 billion at the end of 2019. In practice, the agencies and institutions of all administrative branches have expenditure related to security of supply. The actual audit focuses on the sectors that the Covid-19 pandemic is considered to have affected the most.

Different administrative branches do not have uniform procedures for drafting the budget. The drafting procedures were not unified in 2015–2019, and non-uniformity has only increased in the budget for 2020. The Ministry of Finance should strengthen the budget proposal process to enable it to take action in the case of proposals that are contrary to the new drafting regulation. The ministries should make sure that they take the changes in the drafting regulation into account when drafting their budgets.

The HX Fighter and Squadron 2020 projects of the Finnish Defence Forces have been prepared thoroughly. However, the estimated total costs could be more transparent.

The preparations of the HX Fighter and Squadron 2020 projects have been thorough. However, the estimated total costs of the projects could be more transparent.

Central government machinery and equipment assets are managed well as a rule. Good asset lifecycle management contributes to the cost-efficiency of the core operations, such as police service or marine research. However, based on the audit, both the overall picture of fixed assets and the overall management of the assets should be improved. It is essential that the ministries and government agencies and institutions commit to good asset management.