To the Bank of Finland

Report on the audit of financial statements

Opinion

In our opinion, the financial statements give a true and fair view of the Bank of Finland’s financial position and results, in accordance with the Accounting Principles and Methods approved by the Governing Council of the European Central Bank and the Act on the Bank of Finland, and comply with statutory requirements.

Object of the audit
We have audited the financial statements of the Bank of Finland (business identity code 0202248-1) for the year ended 31 December 2018. The financial statements comprise the balance sheet, the profit and loss account and notes.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with good auditing practice in Finland. Our responsibilities under good auditing practice are further described in the ‘Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements’.

We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Independence
We are independent of the Bank of Finland in accordance with the ethical requirements that are applicable in Finland and are relevant to our audit, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.

Responsibilities of the Board of the Bank of Finland for the financial statements

The Board of the Bank of Finland is responsible for the preparation of financial statements that give a true and fair view of the Bank of Finland’s financial position and results, in accordance with the laws and regulations governing the preparation of the Bank’s financial statements, and that comply with statutory requirements. The Bank of Finland Board is also responsible for such internal control as it determines necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the Bank of Finland Board is responsible for assessing the Bank’s ability to continue as going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters relating to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting. The financial statements are prepared using the going concern basis of accounting unless there is an intention to liquidate the Bank or cease operations, or there is no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with good auditing practice will always detect material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of the financial statements.

As part of an audit in accordance with good auditing practice, we exercise professional judgment and maintain professional scepticism throughout the audit. We also:

  • Identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, and obtain audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. The risk of not detecting a material misstatement resulting from fraud is higher than for one resulting from error, as fraud may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal control.
  • Obtain an understanding of internal control relevant to the audit in order to design audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Bank’s internal control.
  • Evaluate the appropriateness of accounting policies used and the reasonableness of accounting estimates and related disclosures made by management.
  • Conclude on the appropriateness of the Bank of Finland Board’s use of the going concern basis of accounting and based on the audit evidence obtained, whether a material uncertainty exists related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the Bank’s ability to continue as a going concern. If we conclude that a material uncertainty exists, we are required to draw attention in our auditor’s report to the related disclosures in the financial statements or, if such disclosures are inadequate, to modify our opinion. Our conclusions are based on the audit evidence obtained up to the date of our auditor’s report. However, future events or conditions may cause the Bank to cease to continue as a going concern.
  • Evaluate the overall presentation, structure and content of the financial statements, including the disclosures, and whether the financial statements represent the underlying transactions and events so that the financial statements give a true and fair view.

We communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control that we identify during our audit.

Helsinki, 28 February 2019
PricewaterhouseCoopers Oy
Authorised Public Accountants
Jukka Paunonen
Authorised Public Accountant