Finansinspektionen’s work to combat conflicts of interest
SCALE
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The authority for the financial sector of Sweden supervises the following law enforcement agencies; the Police Authority, the Swedish Security Service, the National Economic Crimes Bureau, the Swedish Prosecution Authority and the Swedish Customs Service.
COMPLIANCE FOCUS
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Regulation (2007:603) on internal governance and control
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Regulation (2009:93) with instructions for the Financial Supervisory Authority
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Regulation (2013:1111) with instructions for the Financial Supervisory Authority
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Administration Act (2017:900)
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The Publicity and Privacy Act (2009:400)
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Authority regulation (2007:515)
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Instrument of Government, RF (1974:152)
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Freedom of the Press Regulation (1949:105)
PERFORMANCE ASPECT
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effectiveness of measures to prevent lack of objectivity and improper consideration in the exercise of official authority
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effectiveness of ensuring the credibility of the institution
VALUES INVOLVED
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Community: reputation
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Regulatory system: norms and standards
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Human capital: attitude
The vast majority of case officers in the core business believe that Finansinspektionen has a well-functioning system to counteract disqualification and conflicts of interest, and that this has been tightened in recent years. They also state that they are familiar with the authority’s rules on conflicts of interest. At the same time, both managers and case officers are calling for more training on central government basic values and conflicts of interest. There is also a lack of clarifying examples of conflicts of interest, which gives considerable scope for varying interpretation of the rules.
2.
Communication
- Discussion
Finansinspektionen’s management has strongly emphasised that it is important for the staff in their daily work to discuss and reflect on the role of government officials and the risk of conflicts of interest. This is highlighted as one of the authority’s most important instruments for combating conflicts of interest. At the same time, every third case officer points out that their immediate manager does not initiate such discussions, and every fourth case officer does not think that the issues are discussed sufficiently.
3.
Process
- Documentation
Finansinspektionen also needs to monitor and check that rules, guidelines and processes are applied and function as intended. This is not done at present. In order to facilitate follow-up and control, the authority should, to a greater extent, document notifications and decisions about disqualification, secondary employment and other relevant conflicts of interest. At present this is very rarely done and only if the employee so requests. Transparency on this is also important for confidence in the authority .
Code (gexf) to continue analysis with GephiTerminology graph
