Swedish National Audit Office
The Swedish National Audit Office (NAO, Swedish: Riksrevisionen) is the agency responsible for oversight of the state finances through financial and performance-based audits of state agencies, state-owned companies and the Government of Sweden. It serves directly under the Riksdag, the legislative branch, and is therefore independent of the government cabinet, the executive branch. All state agencies are required to submit copies of their annual accounts and reports to this office for review.[1]
The NAO's mission is to examine the government's activities in order to contribute to the effective management of state administration. The agency is led by three Auditors General (riksrevisorer) who are appointed for seven-year terms without the possibility of re-appointment. The Auditors General decide independently what aspects of the state government should be audited, how the work is to be carried out and the recommendations included in the final reports. The independence of the NAO and the Auditors General is specified in Chapter 13 of the Instrument of Government (Regeringsformen), which is part of the Constitution of Sweden.
The NAO was founded on 1 July 2003 when it took over the responsibility from its predecessor agencies Riksdagens revisorer ("auditors of the Riksdag") and Riksrevisionsverket ("national auditing agency").
Notes
- ↑ Geert Bouckaert, John Halligan (2008-02-14), Managing performance, p. 325, ISBN 978-0-415-42395-3
References
- Sveriges Riksdag (translated by Ray Bradfield), The Constitution of Sweden: The Fundamental Laws and the Riksdag Act. Sveriges Riksdag, Stockholm. 2012. ISBN 978-91-86673-25-3