2026-03-18
The National Audit Office has started using a new financial audit tool called “Finauto”—an automated system of procedures that will help to analyse data more quickly and detect potential discrepancies in public finances at an earlier stage. This is the first step toward the digitalisation of financial audits.
The new system performs some audit procedures automatically—from data collection and analysis to reconciliations and risk identification. Financial statements submitted in PDF format are automatically converted into structured data. This data is reconciled with the information and financial data stored in the Ministry of Finance’s systems. Based on predefined algorithms, the system flags potentially risky transactions: adjustments made after the close of the accounting period, negative expenses, correction entries, duplicate transactions, or double payments. Auditors can examine such transactions in more detail and assess potential discrepancies.
“Financial auditing is increasingly facing the challenge of keeping pace with data flows. “Finauto” is our technological breakthrough—in just a year and a half since the prototype was created, we’ve developed a tool that automates routine tasks and allows auditors to focus on analytics. We aim for less bureaucracy and more results—the system handles the mechanical comparison of data, while we focus on assessing the use of public funds and risks,” says Auditor General Irena Segalovičienė.
From prototype to operational system
The development of the system, from prototype to implementation in real audit situations, took nearly a year and a half. The project was driven by the need to modernise financial auditing and make greater use of data analytics solutions. After receiving funding through the GovTech initiative, the prototype was subsequently developed into a fully operational system.
It is planned that "Finauto" will continue to be developed in the coming years: more audit procedures will be integrated into the system, additional scenarios will be implemented, and screening mechanisms and risk assessment models will be further developed.
What difference does "Finauto" make?
This solution will save at least 2,000 auditor-hours per year, as auditors previously spent between 4 and 8 hours evaluating data from a single institution, whereas the system completes this task in 15 minutes.
In addition, the system allows the National Audit Office to perform more audit procedures and review more public sector institutions in a much shorter time. This helps to identify and correct accounting errors more quickly.
The audited entities will also benefit, as they will need to provide less data to auditors, will be able to receive comments and insights more quickly, and the system will allow them to make necessary corrections even before the auditor’s opinion is issued.