The first year of the Finnish Transparency Register – lobbyists are committed to transparency

Finland introduced a transparency register as the first Nordic country in early 2024. By the end of March, as many as 770 actors engaged in lobbying or lobbying consultancy had already registered with the Transparency Register. The National Audit Office (NAOF) acts as the registrar.

During the spring, the NAOF organised a presentation event and webinars to make it easier for the actors subject to the disclosure obligation to register and submit disclosures of activities. Representatives of the media were also provided with more information on the operation of the Register in their own event.

“In our training sessions, we have met thousands of people interested in the Finnish Transparency Register. It has become clear in these sessions that lobbyists are committed to transparency. The actors subject to the disclosure obligation have made significant efforts to enable the reporting required by legislation,” says Oversight Manager Jonna Carlson.

The number of registrations continued to increase steadily throughout the year, and by mid-November, the number of registered actors was almost 1,100. The NAOF's Transparency Register team helped the register users throughout the year and responded actively to questions on different channels.

Active guidance during the disclosure period

The Advisory Board of the Transparency Register prepared recommendations on good lobbying practice, which were published in June. A number of organisations engaged in lobbying are committed to them. The disclosure period for the first reporting period started at the beginning of July, and representatives of the Finnish Transparency Register also participated in a discussion about the social impacts of lobbying in the SuomiAreena debate forum.

The first reporting period and inquiries related to it kept the Transparency Register team busy in July and August. At the end of August, around 800 disclosers had filed disclosures of their lobbying and lobbying consultancy activities. The media highlighted the most active lobbyists and lobbying targets, but the reporting remained fact-based and neutral.

During the autumn and early winter, the NAOF organises webinars on the upcoming reporting period and the financial information to be disclosed on lobbying.

The next disclosure period begins on 1 January 2025, and from the turn of the year, the actors subject to the disclosure obligation must also monitor the resources they have used for lobbying. Financial information on the lobbying carried out in 2025 will be disclosed for the first time in June 2026.