About us
Legal mandate
Within the scope of legal and constitutional provisions, the Swiss Federal Audit Office (SFAO) is independent and autonomous (INTOSAI Lima Declaration ISSAI 1, UN-Resolution A/66/209). It determines its own audit programme annually based on risk analysis and on criteria contained in Article 5 of the Federal Auditing Act. The Federal Council and the Joint Committee on Finance of the Federal Assembly are notified of this programme. For administrative purposes, the Swiss Federal Audit Office is assigned to the Federal Department of Finance, but is not subordinate to it.
The SFAO is headed by a Director. The Director is chosen by the Federal Council for a period of six years. The election must be confirmed by Parliament. After six years a new election is possible.
The Director of the SFAO has the competence to determine autonomously the entire personnel of the Audit Office. The budget of the SFAO will be advised by Parliament without the Federal Council getting involved. In case there is a need for specialised knowledge in order for the SFAO to fulfil its tasks, it is allowed to buy-in outside expertise.
For further details the Annual Report can be downloaded as a pdf file.