there are as many, if not more occasions in the non - financial corporate sector where audit reports do not reflect the true reality. i would like to raise one other challenge that internal auditors are likely to face, particularly in smaller institutions, where there is not sufficient talent to go around. this challenge has to do with maintaining the independence of the internal auditor. internal auditors are in a unique position to obtain an informed perspective of the organizations for which they work. as such, they are in the best position to assist and advise management on developing the broad principles that should govern the risk management and internal control environment. on the other hand, to be effective, internal auditors need to be independent and cannot assume a line - management role for control activities, including those they helped to design. accordingly, internal auditors need to be continually alert to conflicts of interest. it is a situation that calls for delicate professional judgment to promote a win - win situation. let me close by again emphasizing that by and large our internal audit profession has served the country well. i am sure that your dedication and quality efforts have contributed to strengthening our corporate sector and to avoiding some of the pitfalls other countries have faced. but you must ensure adherence to the highest professional standards. perhaps one way of doing that is for the institute of internal auditors, as the governing body of the auditing profession to take a more aggressive leadership role, by implementing some form of structured oversight of the auditing profession. this oversight would be in keeping with what now exists in several parts of the world – in both developed and developing countries. i am sure you know that the continued absence of appropriate oversight carries potential legal and reputational risks, especially for financial institutions which operate in a fiduciary capacity. and my final suggestion to you, individually and as a group, is to continue upgrading your skills. improvements in technology, the quick pace of financial innovation and evolving riskmanagement techniques will ensure that businesses will use increasingly complicated configurations of products and financial structures. the internal auditor needs to stay abreast if you are to add value and help your organization accomplish its objectives while bringing a systematic and disciplined approach to risk management, control and governance. and the answer is training, and learning new technical skills. i thank you once again.

stefan ingves : the riksbank's role in the economy speech by mr stefan ingves, governor of the sveriges riksbank, at umea university, umea, 6 february 2006. * * * let me begin by thanking you for the opportunity to come here and talk to you! travelling around the country and meeting representatives of different regions, industries and sectors of society is an important part of the openness the riksbank wishes to maintain. these trips provide us with input for our discussions at the bank, while we build up confidence in our operations. this is my first public appearance as riksbank governor, and it feels good to stand here in front of students, teachers, local politicians, regional business representatives and other umea residents. i hope we will have a stimulating discussion and i will certainly do my best to answer your questions. introduction after living and working abroad for many years, it is an honour, as well as exciting and a pleasure to be back in sweden and at the riksbank. the bank i left some years ago is now different in many ways. the most important change is that the riksbank has been governed since 1999 by an executive board, consisting of a governor and five deputy governors, which makes all of the strategic decisions, including monetary policy decisions. previously the interest rate decisions were formally made by the general council, which now instead appoints the members of the executive board. the riksbank has obtained greater independence in relation to parliament and this is why its management has been given greater breadth – five deputy governors compared with two previously. the change towards greater independence for the riksbank coincided with the clarification of the bank ’ s monetary policy task. it is now written in the sveriges riksbank act that the bank shall maintain price stability. this is a development that has also taken place in many other countries. inflation was for a long time a major problem in many parts of the world, but since the shift in monetary policy towards a greater focus on price stability, inflation has been brought under control. in addition to sweden, twenty or so other countries currently have inflation targets, although not all of them have chosen exactly the same system for inflation targeting. sweden was one of the first in this context. the increased independence has entailed greater demands for the riksbank to explain its decisions. when i worked at the bank prior to 1999, work had already begun on improving analyses and communication and aiming