| User (Central government) | 3 | Respondents did not see significant usage or added value of CFS, from the point of view of the ownership steering function. They have systematic company-specific information of companies in the portfolio |
| A wider than present knowledge about SOEs may interest the Commerce Committee of parliament. However, the main interest of Members of Parliament is directed to company-specific matters |
| User (Central government) | 1 | It is difficult to foresee the need or application of CFS information, and in a way, the adopted approach could be in the beginning a supply orientation. If the focus is on an audit-suitable CFS, this may supplant inputs from more useful usage. One information application is to recognize assets for possible balance sheet arrangements. Another is a risk analysis that uses as information sources the balance sheet and the funds flow statement |
| Preparer (Specialized financing company) | 3 | There is no added value in consolidating the financial statement lines of the company into the government statement |
| Information needs of a specialised financing company: (1) Does the government want to invest more capital into state-owned financing company, or (2) what are the commitments that become ripe to pay for the government? This information gives added value, not the summation of the balance sheet with the government balance sheet |
| User (Central government) | 1 | The line ministry sees companies as separate entities, and less comparable to each other |
| The line ministry looks at its steered companies from the angle of their special-purpose function and from their societal effectivity |
| However, looking at the companies as one whole may be a good tool when the aim is to evaluate how policy aims have been promoted in their entirety |
| User (State Audit Office of Finland) | 3 | It needs information on phenomenon- and goal-related money inflows and outflows for precisely understanding and implementing its audit engagements |
| Comprehensive economics information may improve the management of the whole, knowledge of risks, the extent to which they are state responsibilities and the extent to which they are the responsibilities of external partners, awareness of the comprehensively examined state debts |
| The appropriateness of group and ownership structures should be constantly tracked |
| Contingent liabilities, guarantees and especially state-owned financing company off-balance sheet commitments and reporting of them is at present deficient |
| State Audit Office of Finland emphasised the needs of the parliament, although the parliament (MPs) |
| Probably does not have any strong views on this matter |
| Preparer (A majority state-owned strategic listed company) | 1 | The interviewee of this listed company did not see added value from a state CFS; rather it would create costs for the company |
| The company prepares and presents its own CFS according to the mandatory accounting rules (IFRS) |
| It is essential for the government to follow the market value of the state-owned portfolio |
| Follow-up of the turnover has less significance: it has significance if one wants to follow the growth of the company |
| User (National Statistical Office of Finland) | 3 | Group data would be of use if this data accommodated their sector classification statistical needs. This would |
| Save their data collection work |
| Pure compilation data is of no use because the statistical office needs entity-level data for its statistical examinations |
| Preparer (Central government) | 4 | It is enough for them that they provide budget data for the aims of follow-up and budget authority procedures, for accounting purposes and for performance data for state annual activity reporting |
| Preparer (The Finnish Social Insurance Institution) | 2 | It has no need itself for any state CFS data |
| External (The association of Finnish Local and Regional Authorities) | 2 | The interviewees emphasised the importance of entity-specific data for subsidiaries. The municipal economic crisis measures according to the Local Government Act include metrics that are calculated on the group level |
| In addition to examining the merged group, municipalities in their parent role examine entities separately in their group |
| Preparer (Finnish Government Shared Services Centre for Finance and HR) | 1 | The information system as such is technically adaptable to CFS requirements, but it means changes in the information system, takes time and costs |
| The parliament as a political decision-maker may be the widest user of CFS |
| User (Central government) | 1 | An overall view is needed in the budget and framework preparation and related to economic policy planning in the ministry |
| The overall picture is now too dependent on “manual digging” for data from different sources: it would be helpful to have one united and comprehensive database |
| User (Central government) | 1 | The department as such does not have a need for a state CFS, except if it serves national accounts and public sector macroeconomics planning purposes |
| Knowledge benefits macroeconomics if the data helps to understand the figures in the national accounts and helps to plan with the numbers |
| This above would be served by data organised according to the national accounts sector classification criteria in the CFS |
| A comprehensive knowledge of state debts and other liabilities benefits the department |
| User (Central government) | 1 | The usage and usefulness of state CFS is unclear |
| Knowledge about risks and commitments concerning the wider whole than the budget organisation faces |
| A comprehensive balance sheet may help to consider the ownership structures, but this purpose can be satisfied without a state CFs, and actually all these matters are already observed all the time |
| Preparer (Government-owned lottery and pooling corporation) | 1 | It has no knowledge needs itself related to a state CFS. It has a functioning communication process and dialogue with the ownership steering office in the ministry with no problems |
| The state consolidated balance sheet would help to understand the cumulative debt, contingent liabilities and risks of the state |
| SOEs deliver dividends that are registered as incomes are in the state budget, so this information is in the budget |
| The CFS would show how much from the consolidated balance sheet gets property from the subsidiaries |
| Preparer (Central government) | 1 | Government needs knowledge about activities that government has reasons to keep and about activities that can be outsourced, keeping in mind that outsourced activities are difficult to internalise back |
| Knowledge about state wealth and indebtedness supplemented with knowledge about liabilities and commitments are important |
| Income statement information regarding big money flows is important, especially in situations in which some other actor implements governmental tasks on behalf of the government, the Finnish insurance institution is one example of this |
| User A big leading audit firm | 2 | The owner should use its ownership power irrespective of the community form |
| When doing a CFS, it is important for the citizens that the reconciliation statements are done in a transparent way so that the citizens can see what the different statements tell. There must be bridge calculations between the budget statement and the accrual-based financial statement |
| Expert 1 | 1 | On the business side, the CFS is justified because of the need to calculate the result and the distributable retained profit. The balanced economy requirement calculated from the CFS is not valid in the case of the central government |
| Foreign creditors' information needs must be served. Assessed from their needs, the consolidated balance sheet containing all liabilities and commitments is important |
| Expert 2 | 1 | In the business world, the parent company strongly steers and coordinates subsidiaries so that it can be sure that the same operating principles are followed everywhere |
| The consolidated public sector income statement has severe problems because the result is totally differently formulated in a business subsidiary than in a budget entity |
| User Audit Committee of the Parliament | 1 | SOEs are handled in the Audit Committee as separate matters and not included in any comprehensive calculations. There may be a latent need for such calculations, but so far this has not more specifically manifested itself |
| User (Central government) | 1 | Parliament needs a comprehensive picture for its decision-making on the wider economy than the budget economy |
| The wider picture is important for the parliament to be able to follow the fulfilment of accountability |
| The mode of the presentation must be understandable and clear, not too complex |
| User (Central government) | 1 | The Department participates in the work of compiling and developing the state annual report |
| A new kind of accountability report of the overall picture of the government economy and activities can be developed on the grounds of present reporting or be completely new |
| An overall picture is needed of the property, debts, net wealth, contingent liabilities and commitments risks and of the money outflows of realised risks |
| The group examination should be done multidimensionally, for instance, on the continuum from budget organisation, government funds public corporations, public financial institutions etc |
| This means that there should be balance sheets on different points according to this cumulative continuum |
| User (Central government) | One person | Needs of analysis of wide-government investments |
| One solution is to gather subsidiaries to separate groups according to their nature and show them as separate subgroups (not consolidated) |