Switzerland’s financial watchdog faces criticism despite independence

Switzerland’s top federal financial watchdog is repeatedly accused of acting politically, even though it independently decides which government departments and projects to investigate, SRF reported.

The Swiss Federal Audit Office, known by its German abbreviation EFK, is based in an unremarkable building in Bern but has considerable influence. Under the Federal Audit Act, it is “bound only by the Federal Constitution and the law.” The institution was founded in 1877 as an accounting audit office.

Its reports nevertheless regularly trigger angry reactions in the Federal Palace. The latest example concerns the “Transport ’45” expansion programme from the department headed by Transport Minister Albert Rösti.

The EFK said the programme lacked adequate criteria for prioritising projects. Swiss People’s Party National Council member Christian Imark described the report as politically motivated and a personal attack on Rösti. He also criticised the decision to publish it while the proposal was undergoing consultation.

In response to an inquiry, the EFK said it conducts risk-based audits and examines all federal departments and offices closely. Regarding the timing of its reports, it said its work was useful only if its findings were available in time for political debate.

Marc Bühlmann, a political scientist and director of Année Politique Suisse at the University of Bern, said ideologically charged reactions were part of political debate. Emotional responses ultimately helped stimulate discussion of political issues, he said. In the long term, EFK findings were taken seriously despite loud initial criticism and often led to mistakes being corrected.

The procurement of F-35 fighter jets shows that warnings from the watchdog can nevertheless be ignored. Four years ago, the EFK questioned whether the agreed purchase price was genuinely a binding fixed price. That criticism was partly dismissed as political.

Werner Salzmann, then president of the Council of States Security Policy Committee, recently acknowledged on Radio SRF’s “Samstagsrundschau” that this had been a mistake. The critics had been heard, he said, but people had not believed them because of “resentment”.

Bühlmann said the EFK’s position could be strengthened by requiring Parliament to hear from it and by establishing closer cooperation with parliamentary committees or even political groups. A more intensive dialogue could prevent important findings from being dismissed as political and subsequently ignored.

The EFK has influence through its independent and detailed audits, but it cannot impose sanctions. It therefore depends on politicians and the administration taking its criticism seriously and acting on it.