Values and responsibility

Public administration operates under the citizens' mandate and with public funds, for the benefit of society. In addition to citizens, customers of the central government include organisations, agencies and companies.

When serving our customers, we also partly exercise public power and influence citizens’ rights and obligations. Government employees are responsible for tasks such as granting compensation, levying taxes and carrying out pre-trial investigations. This is why authorities, be it an agency or public official, must act impartially, independently and fairly in the performance of their duties.

Public officials are responsible for the lawfulness of their decisions and other actions. The purpose of liability for acts in office is to strengthen the trust of citizens in public administration. It is also important for us to continue to build this trust in the future.

Values in central government

We work for the government based on a set of shared values. We make sure to carry out our work effectively, to a high standard and with solid expertise. Good administration also includes a customer-oriented service principle.

Other principles followed in our operations include openness, trust, impartiality, independence and equality. Responsibility forms the basis of our daily work.

Responsibility at the government

To ensure responsible operations, we monitor the achievement of a set of responsibility targets. We also examine whether the efforts for sustainable development are sufficient and on the right track.

The sustainability reports of individual agencies are available (in Finnish) on the State Treasury website.