Governance is not just bureaucracy and rules. Good governance guides Saastamoinen Foundation’s activities of for the benefit of society.
Saastamoinen Foundation’s activities are all directed towards the common good. In its governance guidelines, the Foundation has set clear goals for its activities, which must accord with the useful purpose referred to in the legal rules and provisions, and great weight is put on compliance with good governance.
Saastamoinen Foundation’s governance guidelines lay out detailed rules to ensure that all activities are transparent and satisfy quality criteria. The Foundation’s governance guidelines comply with the principles laid out in the Good Governance of Foundations published by the Council of Finnish Foundations (COFF).
The new Foundations Act (In Finnish: Säätiölaki, 487/2015) and the Act on Enforcement of Foundations (In Finnish: Laki säätiölain voimaanpanosta, 488/2015) entered into effect on 1 December 2015. Under section 4 of the Act on Enforcement of Foundations, foundations registered when the old act was still in effect are obliged to amend any content of their rules that conflicts with the provisions of the new act by 1 December 2018. Saastamoinen Foundation’s rules do not conflict with the provisions of the act currently in force.
The Foundation’s governance guidelines include provisions concerning asset management, financial administration and accounting practice, and the Foundation’s activities in general. These include (inter alia) the Accounting Act, taxation instructions, auditing practice and international and Finnish auditing regulations.
Saastamoinen Foundation’s auditors are KHT auditors approved by the Finnish Chamber of Commerce. Annual reports provide a comprehensive account of the Foundation’s activities. Find out more about our audit firm PwC from their website here.
Photo: Kimmo Syväri, Aalto EE