Office of the Auditor General of Norway
Encyclopedia
The Office of the Auditor General of Norway is the state auditor of the Government of Norway and directly subordinate of the Parliament of Norway. It is responsible for auditing, monitoring and advising all state economic activities, including financial audit
s, performance audit
s and corporate control
. Located in Oslo, it is led by a board
of five auditor generals elected for four years and between 2006 and 2009 led by Jørgen Kosmo
. It is regulated by the Auditor General Act of June 1, 2005.
The auditor generals are all former politician
s currently consisting of Chairman Jørgen Kosmo
(Labour
), Deputy Chairman Jan L. Stub (Progress
), Annelise Høegh
(Conservative
), Geir-Ketil Hansen
(Socialist Left
) and Ranveig Frøiland
(Labour). The offices has about 460 employees, mostly recruited among economist
s, lawyer
s and social scientist
s.
§75 stated that there were to be appointed five auditors by the Parliament of Norway with the first auditors being appointed in 1816. In 1822 the Ministry of Auditing (Revisjonsdepartementet) was created as a supplement to the office that originally bore the name Statsrevisjonen (lit. the State Auditing). When the current Parliament of Norway Building
opened in 1866 the office followed along, and stayed in the building until 1890. In 1918 the system is changed and all state auditing is taken over by the office, removing the ministry. In 1938, with 64 against 63 votes, the Parliament of Norway changed the office's name to the current Riksrevisjonen (lit. the National Auditing). In 1962 the auditing of the Norwegian State Railways, Telegrafverket
and the Postal Service
were included in the office.
Financial audit
A financial audit, or more accurately, an audit of financial statements, is the verification of the financial statements of a legal entity, with a view to express an audit opinion...
s, performance audit
Performance audit
Performance audit refers to an examination of a program, function, operation or the management systems and procedures of a governmental or non-profit entity to assess whether the entity is achieving economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the employment of available resources...
s and corporate control
Corporate governance
Corporate governance is a number of processes, customs, policies, laws, and institutions which have impact on the way a company is controlled...
. Located in Oslo, it is led by a board
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of five auditor generals elected for four years and between 2006 and 2009 led by Jørgen Kosmo
Jørgen Kosmo
Jørgen Hårek Kosmo is a Norwegian politician. Since 2005 he has been Auditor General of Norway, after representing the Labour Party in the Storting for 20 years, of which the final 4 years as President of the Storting.Kosmo was Minister of Defence from 1993 to 1997 and Minister of Labour and...
. It is regulated by the Auditor General Act of June 1, 2005.
The auditor generals are all former politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
s currently consisting of Chairman Jørgen Kosmo
Jørgen Kosmo
Jørgen Hårek Kosmo is a Norwegian politician. Since 2005 he has been Auditor General of Norway, after representing the Labour Party in the Storting for 20 years, of which the final 4 years as President of the Storting.Kosmo was Minister of Defence from 1993 to 1997 and Minister of Labour and...
(Labour
Norwegian Labour Party
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister of Norway....
), Deputy Chairman Jan L. Stub (Progress
Progress Party (Norway)
The Progress Party is a political party in Norway which identifies as conservative liberal and libertarian. The media has described it as conservative and right-wing populist...
), Annelise Høegh
Annelise Høegh
Annelise Høegh is a Norwegian politician for the Conservative Party . She was a member of the Parliament of Norway from 1985 to 2001, representing Oslo. She is married to Jo Benkow.-References:...
(Conservative
Conservative Party of Norway
The Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. The current leader is Erna Solberg. The party was since the 1920s consistently the second largest party in Norway, but has been surpassed by the growth of the Progress Party in the late 1990s and 2000s...
), Geir-Ketil Hansen
Geir-Ketil Hansen
Geir-Ketil Hansen is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party.He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Nordland in 2001, but was not re-elected in 2005...
(Socialist Left
Socialist Left Party (Norway)
The Socialist Left Party or SV, is a Norwegian left-wing political party. At one point one of the smallest parties in Parliament, it became the fourth-largest political party in Norway for the first time in the 2001 parliamentary election, and has been so ever since...
) and Ranveig Frøiland
Ranveig Frøiland
Ranveig H. Frøiland is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. She was Minister of Industry and Energy in 1996, and Minister of Petroleum and Energy in 1997. Currently she is Chairman of the Board of Bergen Health Trust....
(Labour). The offices has about 460 employees, mostly recruited among economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...
s, lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
s and social scientist
Social Scientist
Social Scientist is a New Delhi based journal in social sciences and humanities published since 1972....
s.
History
The office dates back to 1814 when the Constitution of NorwayConstitution of Norway
The Constitution of Norway was first adopted on May 16, 1814 by the Norwegian Constituent Assembly at Eidsvoll , then signed and dated May 17...
§75 stated that there were to be appointed five auditors by the Parliament of Norway with the first auditors being appointed in 1816. In 1822 the Ministry of Auditing (Revisjonsdepartementet) was created as a supplement to the office that originally bore the name Statsrevisjonen (lit. the State Auditing). When the current Parliament of Norway Building
Parliament of Norway Building
The Parliament of Norway Building is the seat of the Parliament of Norway, located in central Oslo. The building is located at Karl Johans gate 22 and was taken into use on 5 March 1866...
opened in 1866 the office followed along, and stayed in the building until 1890. In 1918 the system is changed and all state auditing is taken over by the office, removing the ministry. In 1938, with 64 against 63 votes, the Parliament of Norway changed the office's name to the current Riksrevisjonen (lit. the National Auditing). In 1962 the auditing of the Norwegian State Railways, Telegrafverket
Televerket
Televerket is the name of two government telecommunications agencies:*Televerket , former name of Swedish company Telia, later merged to TeliaSonera.*Televerket, former name of Norwegian company Telenor...
and the Postal Service
Posten (Norway)
Posten Norge or Norway Post is the name of the Norwegian postal service. The word posten means the post or the mail in Norwegian. The company, owned by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications holds a monopoly on distribution of mail throughout the country.-History:Posten was founded...
were included in the office.
Auditor Generals
The Auditor General is the head of the Office.- 1816–1821 : Marcus S. Lyng
- 1821–1827 : Frederik MotzfeldtFrederik MotzfeldtFrederik Motzfeldt was a Norwegian politician.Born in Skaun, he graduated as cand.jur. in 1801. He was a member of the Norwegian Constituent Assembly in 1814, representing Molde where he worked as both stipendiary magistrate and district stipendiary magistrate .He left Molde later in 1814 to work...
- 1827–1834 : Lauritz Nicolai Kraft
- 1827–1845 : Peter L. Stabel
- 1834–1846 : Søren Anton Wilhelm Sørenssen Søren Anton Wilhelm SørenssenSøren Anton Wilhelm Sørenssen was the Norwegian Minister of Justice 1848-1850 and 1851-1853, and member of the Council of State Division in Stockholm 1850-1851, 1852 and 1852-1853....
- 1848–1854 : Johan D. Rye
- 1854–1881 : Peter Daniel B. W. Kildal Peter Daniel B. W. KildalPeter Daniel Baade Wind Kildal was a Norwegian politician.He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament in 1857, 1862, 1865, 1868 and 1871. He represented the constituency of Christiania, Hønefoss og Kongsvinger. During the last term he was President of the Storting, together with later Prime...
- 1882–1883 : Peder Krabbe Gaarder Peder Krabbe GaarderPeder Krabbe Gaarder was a Norwegian jurist and political theorist.He was born in Alstahaug. As a political theorist on constitutional law he weighted popular sovereignty over separation of powers. He published Fortolkninger over Grundloven og de øvrige Love, som danne Norges Riges offentlige Ret...
- 1883–1898 : Hagbard Berner
- 1898–1923 : Svend Borchmann Hersleb Vogt Svend Borchmann Hersleb VogtSvend Borchmann Hersleb Vogt was a Norwegian jurist and politician for the Conservative Party.He was born in Kristiania as the son of Nils Lorentz Vogt and his wife Karen Johanne Holmboe. His maternal grandfather was Hans Holmboe...
- 1923–1925 : Tore Embretsen Aaen
- 1926–1949 : Hans T. H. Lütken
- 1949–1950 : Saamund Olsen Bergland
- 1950–1978 : Lars Breie Lars BreieLars Breie was a Norwegian jurist, auditor and politician for the Labour Party.He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Buskerud in 1945, and was re-elected on one occasion....
- 1978–1980 : Tor Oftedal Tor OftedalTor Oftedal was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party.He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Buskerud in 1969, and was re-elected on two occasions...
- 1981–1990 : Petter Furberg Petter FurbergPetter Furberg was a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party.He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Vestfold in 1969, and was re-elected on two occasions....
- 1990–2005 : Bjarne Mørk Eidem Bjarne Mørk EidemBjarne Mørk Eidem is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party. He is chairman of the Norwegian Aquaculture Center in Brønnøy.-Biography:...
- 2005–present : Jørgen Kosmo Jørgen KosmoJørgen Hårek Kosmo is a Norwegian politician. Since 2005 he has been Auditor General of Norway, after representing the Labour Party in the Storting for 20 years, of which the final 4 years as President of the Storting.Kosmo was Minister of Defence from 1993 to 1997 and Minister of Labour and...