Communication and media
Listed below are the latest news articles published on the Swedish NAO website. Previous news related to our reports and review results can be accessed from our reports page or by using the website search in the page header.
News articles
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Visit from the Armenian speaker – building democracy on the agenda
The speaker of the Armenian Parliament, Mr Ararat Mirzoyan, is on an official visit to Sweden. As part of the visit, the Speaker together with a delegation consisting of members of the Armenian parliament and Armenia’s ambassador to Sweden, had a meeting with the Auditors General, Ms Helena Lindberg and Mr Stefan Lundgren.
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Risk of undermining trust when purchasing from related parties
Government agencies will sometimes make purchases from companies with ties to the agency’s employees or their relatives – at times with very large sums involved. These purchases can be completely legitimate, but they can also entail a risk of corruption and other irregularities. The Swedish National Audit Office (NAO) has examined the scope and management of related-party transactions.
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Deficiencies in digital support for businesses
By digitalising contacts with government agencies, Sweden could make it considerably easier to start a new business. The deficiencies are partly the result of outdated technical solutions, fragmented governance and split responsibility.
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Governance of authorities in the judicial chain is not adequately integrated
The Swedish NAO’s audit of the judicial chain shows that the Government has not had sufficient focus on the entire chain in its governance. The judicial chain consists of the police, prosecutors, courts, and the prison and probation service.
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Shortcomings in Government initiatives for compulsory school for students with learning disabilities
Compulsory schools for students with learning disabilities are disadvantaged when the Government develops the school system in Sweden. Less support to assessment and poorer monitoring of knowledge and reporting to the Riksdag are some of the consequences.
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Swedish Customs needs to improve intelligence activities to make its controls more effective
Swedish Customs lacks detailed knowledge of smuggling to Sweden. In addition, the agency’s work in obtaining and managing intelligence is inadequate. In combination, this leads to reduced effectiveness of control activities.
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Embellished picture of Almi’s contributions to gender equality
State-owned Almi is to promote having more women running businesses in Sweden. However, for several years, Almi’s reporting of its commission has been misleading, thereby giving an overly positive image. The Swedish National Audit Office’s audit also indicates deficiencies in the central governance.
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Mauritius is awarded the Prize for the best Performance Audit report in AFROSAI-E
The supreme audit institution in Mauritius (National Audit Office of Mauritius) was today awarded the prize for the best performance audit report in the AFROSAI-E region, the African Organization of English-speaking Supreme Audit Institutions.
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The Government manages companies and foundations in the cultural sector as if they were government agencies
The Government’s management of the cultural institutions has become clearer and more long-term, according to the latest audit by the Swedish National Audit Office. However, this management is not adapted to different forms of operations. This means that state-owned companies and foundations are managed as if they were government agencies.
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Weak governing of the work against organised crime
For several years, twelve government authorities have invested considerable resources into fighting organised crime. An audit by the Swedish National Audit Office (NAO) has shown that government steering has been unclear and uncoordinated. Shortcomings in follow-ups also mean the impact of the efforts cannot be evaluated.
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Lack of efficiency in the premium pension system implies lower pensions in the future
The premium pension system is not efficient, something that will have a negative impact on future pensions. An audit report from the Swedish National Audit Office indicates that the requirement for pension fund managers to systematically report all costs should be tightened up.
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Lack of a holistic perspective in the central governance of the county administrative boards
The central governance of the county administrative boards is lacking a holistic perspective and limits the possibilities of long-term and sustainable operations. The Swedish National Audit Office is now recommending the Government Offices to improve the coordination of governance and to introduce more unison funding.
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Inadequate follow-up of supervisory decisions regarding schools
The Swedish Schools Inspectorate allocates considerable resources to identifying problems in schooling, but often closes cases without ensuring that the deficiencies are corrected. The National Audit Office also identified shortcomings in transparency, urgency and equivalence in relation to follow-up of supervisory decisions.
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Short-term implementation of export initiative
The regional export centre initiative, implemented nationally, is intended to improve the export capabilities of small and medium-sized companies. The National Audit Office’s audit shows that it could have been implemented more efficiently and that the results should be followed up on and accounted for more clearly to the Riksdag.
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Klimatklivet: A comprehensive environmental initiative with deficiencies in efficiency and reporting
Klimatklivet is a comprehensive environmental initiative that was introduced 2015. The audit by the Swedish National Audit Office reveals that the aid is not cost-effective, and that the government's reporting to the Riksdag has been too positive.
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Lacking basis for long-term planning and policy decisions
Long-term social planning and policy decisions are often based on future scenarios produced by government agencies. The Swedish National Audit Office’s audit shows that there are significant differences between the government agencies’ scenarios, and that this can have consequences for the weighing and prioritisation of various government initiatives.
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The safety work of the museums falls short
The national central museums do not always have control over which objects they have in their collections, where these items are located, or the condition they are in. Furthermore, the museums do not implement sufficient measures to prevent theft and vandalism, and find it difficult to achieve the desired level of protection against long-term destruction.
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Shortcomings in state support to municipal alcohol and environmental inspections
Sweden's municipalities carry out supervision in several areas. For the supervision to be of equivalent value throughout the country, state authorities must support the municipalities with guidance. The audit shows that there is room for improving the guidance to alcohol and environmental inspections.
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The governance of the higher education agencies UHR and UKÄ should be more closely coordinated
To clarify the roles in the area of higher education, two new government agencies were created in 2013, and three old ones were dismantled. The Swedish National Audit Office’s audit reveals that the reform has largely achieved its objectives, but that the governance of the two agencies should be more closely coordinated.
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Shortcomings in the work to prevent the dissemination of national tests
The audit of the Swedish National Audit Office indicates that the Swedish National Agency for Education has had great difficulty in dealing with the increasing dissemination of national tests. Improvements have been made in the course of 2018, but certain measures will not be in place until 2019.
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Good results from the Swedish National Audit Office’s international development cooperation
The Swedish National Audit Office’s international development cooperation has contributed to strengthening supreme audit institutions and improving transparency and accountability, according to the report on results delivered to the Swedish parliament. Efforts are increasingly focused on supreme audit institutions in fragile states and young democracies.
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The least expensive alternatives are rarely reviewed in large infrastructure investments
Although the Swedish Transport Administration is supposed to review alternative measures for renovations and new construction, this is only done in half of the infrastructure projects. The Swedish National Audit Office (Swedish NAO) is now recommending the Government to clarify what applies.
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Small positive effects of extended choices for upper secondary school
The Swedish National Audit Office’s new audit report shows that the extended opportunities to choose an upper secondary school have had small but positive effects on the future incomes and level of education of pupils. The changes have been most significant for children of parents with a low level of education.
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Significant differences in the penalties of the Swedish Unemployment Insurance Funds in the event of negligence or misconduct
There are significant differences in how often the various unemployment insurance funds administer penalties when unemployed persons fail to actively seek jobs or break the rules in other ways. The Swedish National Audit Office recommends that Swedish Government and the Swedish Unemployment Insurance Board (“Inspektionen för arbetslöshetsförsäkringen,” or “IAF”) ensure that the unemployment insurance funds receive better guidance on how to deal with the regulations.
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Reduced VAT on food is not a cost effective measure
The VAT on food was reduced in 1996 in order to enhance the purchasing power of low-income earners and families with children. The audit of the Swedish National Audit Office indicates that other measures can achieve the same result – at half the cost. Thus, the measure is not cost effective.
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Certain deficiencies in the state's sale of Nordea
The sale of the state's Nordea shares was largely handled in a commercial manner, as per the requirements determined by the Riksdag. However, the Swedish National Audit Office has identified deficiencies in the planning, implementation and reporting processes.
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The reliability of official statistics is threatened by shortcomings in municipal accounting and reporting
Shortcomings in the municipalities’ annual reports and reporting to Statistics Sweden (SCB) constitute a threat to the reliability of the Annual Municipal Accounts (Räkenskapssammandraget, RS), which is used for designing government fiscal policies. The Swedish National Audit Office recommends a tightening of checks and procedures when the information is collected by SCB.
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Clear shortcomings in the design and implementation of the Rural Development Program
The Rural Development Program is intended to develop rural areas, but its design has made it difficult to achieve its objectives. In addition, the responsible authorities have not enjoyed adequate conditions to be able to perform their duties, and there have been no follow-up studies or evaluations that can contribute to improvements during the current program period or in the future.
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Unclear effects of investment aid for special housing for the elderly
The aid granted to build special housing for the elderly has not been effective. The most recent audit by the Swedish National Audit Office indicates that the problem has now been passed on to a new aid package disbursed since 2016. The new aid does not have a time limit.
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Investment savings account: a simple form of saving that has led to billions in forgone tax revenue
The introduction of investment savings accounts has made it easy to save and invest in shares. However, the audit of the Swedish National Audit Office reveals that these accounts may have cost the central government SEK 42 billion in forgone tax revenue.
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Risk of non-uniform assessments regarding sick leave for mental illness
In order to increase uniformity in the assessment of sick leave, the Swedish Social Insurance Agency’s use of the insurance medicine decision support should be improved in several areas, including with regard to persons with multiple ailments.
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Cost increases and delays in implementing a new signal system for the railway
The costs of developing a new signal system for the Swedish railway have almost tripled, and there is a risk of further increases down the line. At the same time, the audit by the Swedish National Audit Office reveals that delays and deficiencies in the planning have entailed extra efforts in the current, outdated signal plant in order to avoid problems for rail traffic prior to the transition.
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Deficiencies in the Government’s governance of public enterprises
The Government should draw up criteria for when a public enterprise is an appropriate corporate form. In addition, the Government should review the regulatory framework for public enterprises so that it is relevant and up to date, states the Swedish National Audit Office.
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Shortcomings in government agencies’ procurement of consultancy services
There is room for improvement when it comes to management in the procurement of consultancy services by government agencies. Examples include areas such as accounting, coordination, needs analyses and follow-up. Furthermore, the audit by the Swedish National Audit Office reveals that the government framework agreements are not used to their fullest extent.
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The interest rate swaps of the Swedish National Debt Office have saved the state SEK 1.1 billion - but the reporting is inadequate
To keep costs low when the state borrows money, the Swedish National Debt Office uses the financial instrument of interest rate swaps. The audit of the Swedish National Audit Office shows that this has led to savings of SEK 1.1 billion since 2003, but the reporting of profits from the use of swaps is clearly inadequate.
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Improvement opportunities for the protection of valuable forest
Deficiencies in initiatives, knowledge and the coordination of statistics have rendered the protection of valuable Swedish forest less effective than it otherwise could be. This is one of the conclusions of the audit conducted by the Swedish National Audit Office, which is being published today.
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Swedish National Audit Office initiates cooperation with the SAI of Liberia
The Swedish National Audit Office has concluded a cooperation agreement with the supreme audit institution (SAI) in Liberia, the General Auditing Commission (GAC). Among other things, the agreement aims to assist the GAC in strengthening its financial audit and working against corruption.
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The Swedish NAO is embarking on a collaboration with Afghanistan
The Swedish NAO has been tasked by the Riksdag to run international development cooperation projects on audit-related activities. The Swedish NAO is now embarking on a collaboration with the Supreme Audit Office of Afghanistan (SAOA) to help strengthen its ability and capacity.
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Deficiencies in processing research and innovation funds by the Swedish Transport Administration
The Swedish Transport Administration has not had sufficient control of its research funds, shows the Swedish National Audit Office audit. The deficiencies include risk analysis, administrative procedures and management of taxpayers’ money.
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Development opportunities for the Swedish Armed Forces’ regional staffs
At an overall level the Swedish Armed Forces’ regional staffs carry out their tasks expediently, but at higher levels of conflict their work is restricted by shortcomings in conditions and methods, according to the Swedish NAO’s audit.
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