Case Study: National Audit Office of Finland achieves more effective, productive financial audits with ACL solutions

National Audit Office of Finland More Effective Financial Audits With ACL Solutions

The National Audit Office of Finland (NAO), the Parliament’s independent auditor responsible for reviewing roughly 25% of the country’s GDP, faced the challenge of auditing numerous ministries, agencies and state‑owned entities that produce large volumes of heterogeneous financial data. The NAO needed standardized, repeatable testing procedures, the ability to handle varied data formats, and a way to quickly identify high‑risk areas while working with limited audit resources.

To address this, the NAO implemented ACL data‑analysis solutions across its financial audits, using repeatable analytics to compare agency transaction‑level data with central Treasury accounts, test payroll, accounts payable and supplier transactions, and run multi‑year expenditure checks. The approach — including an “ABC Analysis” risk classification system — delivered greater productivity and data coverage, streamlined audit procedures, sped up annual reporting and allowed auditors to focus resources on the highest‑risk areas.

National Audit Office of Finland

Pentti Mykkänen

Director For Financial Audit