The Internal Control staff function conducted 42 internal audits in 19 countries during the year. Of these, 13 were IT security audits. The focus was evenly distributed across Europe, Asia and North America. The total number of audits was in line with the preceding year. Most of the internal controls were conducted by the Internal Control staff function in cooperation with internal resources from other staff functions with specialist competence in such areas as purchasing, finance and legal affairs, or jointly with controllers from various business areas. Internal audits of IT security were carried out by external IT consultants together with the Group IT staff function. In 2023, the Internal Control staff function also worked on a broad front with reviews of all processes and most controls were conducted physically.

Activities in focus 2024

The number of planned internal audits amounts to 51 and comprises 44 entities. Geographically, the Internal Control group function will focus primarily on Europe and the US, but audits will be conducted across all continents. The plan is for most internal audits to take place physically on site at the local unit. In 2024, the Internal Control staff function will continue to work broadly with reviews of all processes. A small number of internal audits are planned with the support of record analysis.