Our auditing helps establish trust in government agencies

“The Swedish National Audit Office forms part of parliamentary control. At a more general level, it is a matter of ensuring that government agencies provide the Riksdag and the Government true and fair information on which to make decisions for sound management,” explains Sven-Olof Junker, deputy Head of the Financial Audit Department.

Ellen Hansen, head of unit at the same department, adds:

“At a more basic level, we check that the annual reports submitted by government agencies to the Government do not contain material errors. For example, it may be a case of misstatements involving large amounts, or the government agencies not having reported all the amounts decided by the Government.”

Our audits are thorough, but broad-based

Each year, our 110 employees at the Financial Audit Department examine 225 annual reports, providing insight into the management of SEK 1 300 billion in central government resources. However, although our auditing is thorough, we do not examine every single krona.

“We examine whether the annual report is, in all essential respects, true and fair. It’s about ensuring accuracy in broad terms, rather than in detail,” says Ms Hansen.

International regulations determine the process of the audit of government agencies’ annual reports. The aim is to ensure that the annual reports give a true and fair presentation of the government agencies’ activities. To this end, our auditors collect audit evidence.

“Audit evidence could consist of documentation such as payroll or an invoice. We can also examine a government agency’s internal control to ensure that grants are paid in accordance with prevailing regulations,” explains Ms Hansen.

Audits are based on an assessment of what is essential for decision-makers to know and the nature of the risks involved. Higher risk requires stronger audit evidence.

We use a preventive approach and minor misstatements are corrected on an ongoing basis

A key aspect of auditing is its preventive function. Many minor misstatements that our financial auditors detect can be corrected before they appear in the annual report. Only six per cent of government agencies’ annual reports contain material misstatements.

“Just knowing that you will be audited every year has a preventive effect,” says Ms Hansen.

We report any major misstatements to the government agencies’ principal – either the Government or the Riksdag – and to our principal, the Riksdag.

This financial audit means you can read a government agency’s annual report and trust that it does not contain any material misstatements.

“Confidence in politics can be easily destroyed by a mismanaged administration, which is the case in many countries. The fact that our auditing helps maintain trust in the central government is among the most essential functions of financial auditing,” concludes Mr Junker.