The National Audit Office of Finland (NAOF) promotes sustainability broadly through its audit and oversight activities. Sustainable and stable public finances, transparent institutions and an open and cost-effective public administration provide prerequisites for an economically, socially and ecologically sustainable society.
The National Audit Office has published its sustainability report for 2023. Like other central government actors, the NAOF has identified the sustainable development goals (SDGs) that it can promote in particular through its activities. Of the SDGs of the UN 2030 Agenda, the NAOF has the most direct impact on goals No.
8, Decent work and economic growth
16, Peace, justice and strong institutions, particularly the target: Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels
17, Partnerships for the goals.
“Through effective audit and oversight activities, we ensure sustainable management of public finances and an efficient and transparent central government. Efficient performance of our main task is the key element of our strategy, which entered into force at the beginning of 2024,” says the NAOF’s Auditor General Sami Yläoutinen.
The NAOF’s audit activities cover the entire central government, and the topics of the audits completed in 2023 contributed to a number of sustainable development goals. Through follow-ups of audits, the National Audit Office monitors the measures that public administration has taken on the basis of the conclusions and recommendations presented in the NAOF’s reports. In 2023, 81 per cent of the recommendations had been implemented in full or in part. 93 per cent of the recommendations made in financial audits had been implemented.
Overseeing political party and election campaign funding, maintaining the Finnish Transparency Register and processing complaints and reports on irregularities increase the transparency of society and prevent the possibility of corruption.
The NAOF’s new strategy emphasises efficiency and transparency. Transparency is enhanced by effective cooperation with domestic stakeholders and international SAIs.
The NAOF monitors the negative impacts of its own activities on the environment by means of indicators related to energy consumption, travel and the ecology of procurements. Well-being at work, in turn, is monitored, for example, by means of indicators related to leadership, sick absences and the time spent on education and training. Social responsibility for the staff is monitored by means of indicators related to wellbeing at work, leadership, sick absences and the time spent on education and training.
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