Helsinki paid its auditor €1.4m for other services
Wednesday 21st October 2026 on 18:15 in
Finland
Helsinki paid its auditor, KPMG, about €1.4 million for services beyond auditing last year, several times the roughly €250,000 it paid for audits and auditor opinions, Yle reports. The scale of the additional work has raised concerns about auditor independence.
Finnish law requires auditors to remain independent. Their ethical guidelines identify a risk of self-interest, as large financial ties to an organisation being audited could threaten impartiality.
Riitta Ylipiha, who leads the quality assurance team at Finland’s Patent and Registration Office, said large fees for other services can prompt questions about independence. She said she was commenting generally and not on Helsinki’s arrangements.
KPMG’s work for the city has included advice on pricing, a customer system, leadership coaching and other expert services. The firm has sold Helsinki more than €5 million in non-audit services this decade, with expert work costing close to €300 an hour in some cases.
There is no legal limit on the value of other services an auditor can sell to a public organisation such as a municipality. For credit institutions, insurance companies and listed companies, an EU regulation limits such services to 70 per cent of audit fees under a specified calculation. Ylipiha said similar limits should be considered for public bodies.
Helsinki Audit Director Timo Terävä said KPMG could audit the city independently. He said the audit team does not provide the other services and that KPMG does not take part in the city’s decision-making. Some additional assignments require approval from the city’s Audit Committee.
KPMG declined Yle’s request for an interview. Chief Executive Tom Nyman said in an email that the company does not comment on individual clients and assesses auditor independence for every assignment.
Helsinki Procurement Director Jorma Lamminmäki said new cybersecurity needs were one factor behind the increase in purchases, but he did not know all the details behind the growth.