About us
The Office of the Auditor General (OAG) is an audit agency of the Norwegian parliament (the Storting). We are unique, as we are the only institution that can provide the Storting with a comprehensive and independent audit of the government.
Role and activities
Through auditing, monitoring and guidance, the OAG shall ensure that
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the central government's revenues are paid as intended
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the central government's resources and assets are used and managed according to sound financial principles and in compliance with parliamentary decisions
Our duties are to
- audit the central government accounts
- carry out systematic performance audits of the finances, productivity, achievement of goals and effects based on parliamentary decisions
- monitor the management of the state's proprietary interests in companies
- contribute to the prevention and detection of irregularities and errors
- advise the government administration in order to prevent future errors and omissions
The Storting can instruct the OAG to initiate special audits.
Frameworks
«It devolves upon the Storting (...) to appoint five auditors, who shall annually examine the State Accounts and publish extracts of the same in print, for which purpose the Accounts shall be submitted to the auditors within six months of the end of the year for which the appropriations of the Storting have been made, and to adopt provisions concerning the procedure for authorising the accounts of government accounting officials.»
§ 75 k in The Constitution of the Kingdom of Norway
The general framework conditions are set out in the Act and Instructions relating to the activities of the Office of the Auditor General.
The OAG has chosen to use INTOSAI's international framework and standards for public auditing as the foundation for its activities.
Strategic plan
The Board of Auditors General has adopted a new strategic plan document for 2018–2024. The OAG's vision for addressing the stated social mission is to carry out
«Auditing to benefit the society of tomorrow»
We will achieve this by working towards the following primary objectives for our organisation:
- The OAG will be society's foremost provider of current and relevant public auditing.
- The OAG will carry out high-quality audits and controls.
- The OAG will be an efficient organisation.
Organisation and leadership
A five-member board leads the OAG. Each member has the title of Auditor General and is selected by the Storting. The Storting selects the members of the Board every four years.
The Board is the OAG's board of directors. The members determine which audits we will perform and process the audit reports before they are presented to the Storting. Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen is the Chairman of the Board and is the Managing Director of the OAG.
For the period 1 January 2022 – 31 December 2025, the Board members are:
- Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen, Chairman
- Tom-Christer Nilsen, Vice-chairman
- Helga Pedersen
- Anne Tingelstad Wøien
- Arve Lønnum
The OAG is organised into seven departments, each of which is led by a Director General. Type of auditing and the ministries that they audit divide the auditing departments.
The OAG's quality assurance system
The OAG's quality assurance system builds on the international standards for quality control. The quality assurance system includes leadership, ethics, skills, performance of tasks and monitoring of the organisation.
With this system, management information for the OAG's organisation will be easily accessible, and emphasis is placed on the OAG having:
This includes guidelines for auditing and control work, values documents, strategies and plans, and policies and procedures that will ensure that we follow laws, regulations and good praxis in the central government.
This includes skills, infrastructure, auditing and support systems, systems and processes for management, prioritisation, organisation and interaction, responsibility and authority structures and organisational culture.
This includes systematic processes for planning, execution, quality control and reporting of all auditing and controls.
This includes a knowledge base of how the organisation performs and functions, performance assessments, organisational monitoring, risk analysis, risk management, evaluation and venues in which to share teachable moments and good praxis.
At the OAG, we are continually working to develop in line with these international standards. We strive to meet the standards through plans and through the management of the organisation.