About Refero
A name with a meaning.
The name Refero comes from the Latin referre: to bring back, to relate and to report. That fits well with what we do.
We review historical financial flows. We identify and verify discrepancies and document our conclusions. If we find funds that can be recovered, we help the client to secure them.
Our work is also about knowledge. We want to understand why discrepancies arise and how organisations can strengthen their routines, systems and financial control.
Since 2005, we have carried out over 1,000 analyses for companies, municipalities and regions.
Experience built on real assignments.
Refero’s way of working has been developed over more than two decades of practical work. Every assignment gives new insight into how financial flows work, why discrepancies arise and how they can be identified and verified.
We combine specialist expertise, structured analysis and human judgement. This gives documented results and recommendations that can be used in practice.
The team
The people behind the analysis.
Our four analysts have worked with this for 18 to 23 years. In several cases, the experience began at other companies in the field. Johan has worked with data extraction since 2005. Ronnie is a tax specialist with over 50 years of experience and has been with us since 2008. Christopher has listened to clients’ questions since 2018.
Ronnie Peterson
Senior tax specialist, municipal VAT and indirect taxes
At Refero since 2008
+46 70-592 42 66PENG (Swedish for money)
Four values. One way of working.
Professional
Professionella
Quality and integrity at every step.
Engaged
Engagerade
Personally invested in the value we create for our clients.
Meticulous
Noggranna
Every detail is examined with a sharp eye.
Cheerful
Glada
Positive energy in complex assignments.
Senior tax specialist, municipal VAT and indirect taxes
Ronnie Peterson
Ronnie Peterson has worked with municipal value added tax (VAT) for over 50 years. From 1986 to 2008 he was a tax specialist at the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and County Councils (SKL, at the time the Swedish Association of Local Authorities), with national responsibility for VAT handling in the municipal sector.
During that period the government appointed him as an expert in two government inquiries into the municipal VAT compensation scheme. In the later inquiry he submitted a separate opinion together with another expert in the inquiry.
Since 2008 Ronnie has been associated with Refero as a senior tax specialist. He is responsible for the legal quality assurance of Refero’s VAT analyses, is a specialist in the interpretation of LEMK (the Act on Compensation for Certain Value Added Tax) and the Value Added Tax Act, and represents Refero in matters and legal proceedings against the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket).
Verified credentials
Tax specialist, Swedish Association of Local Authorities and County Councils (SKL)
1986 to 2008. National responsibility for VAT handling in the municipal sector. Named tax specialist in the association’s own circulars on municipal VAT and property assessment during the period.
Source: Circular 1993:110, Swedish Association of Local AuthoritiesGovernment expert, SOU 1999:133
Appointed expert in the inquiry “The municipal account system and fairness: VAT, the municipalities and competition”.
Source: SOU 1999:133, riksdagen.seGovernment expert, SOU 2001:50
Appointed expert from 31 January 2001 in the inquiry “Control in the municipal account system”. Submitted a separate opinion together with another expert in the inquiry.
Source: SOU 2001:50, riksdagen.seSenior tax specialist, Refero
Since 2008. Legal quality assurance of all VAT analyses.
Other background
According to his own CV, not independently verified by Refero.
- State tax auditor, Stockholm County Administrative Board (1971 to 1976)
- Municipal tax assessment auditor, City of Stockholm (1976 to 1986)
- Head of Tax, Vattenfall (1986)
- Member, Indirect Tax Division of the Council for Advance Tax Rulings (1995 to 2010)
- Representative in legal proceedings against the Swedish Tax Agency, including for a municipality in the administrative court
What Refero does not do
Refero does not carry out statutory audits. The work is the analysis and verification of historical financial flows.
Full facts about Refero
Company details
- Company name
- Refero revision AB
- Corporate identity number
- 556676-0699
- Founded
- 2005
- Country
- Sweden
- Address
- Liljeholmsvägen 16, Stora Katrinebergs Gård, 117 61 Stockholm, Sweden
- hej@refero.se
- Telephone
- +46 8 22 61 50
- Activity
- Analysis and verification of historical financial flows
- Areas of analysis
- Historical transactions, VAT, contracts and prices
- Independence
- The analysis is independent of the client’s systems, suppliers and internal processes
- Client segments
- Public sector (municipalities, regions) and private sector
- Website
- https://www.refero.se
Key figures, since 2005
Published values are rounded. Refero’s database probably does not contain all historical projects. Exact figures are not published until the documentation has been fully validated.
- recovered for clients
- over SEK 1.5 billion. Amount actually recovered for clients since 2005. Probably higher, since not all historical assignments are documented in Refero’s current system.
- analyses
- over 1,000. Number of analyses carried out since 2005.
- clients
- over 300. Number of unique clients, public and private sector.
- since 2005
- 20+ years. Refero was founded in 2005.
- municipalities
- 172. Municipalities that have been clients, of Sweden’s 290.
- regions
- 9. Regions that have been clients, of Sweden’s 21.
- analyses
- 796. Analyses carried out in the public sector.
- average client relationship
- 7.7 years. Average length of relationship, public sector clients.
- private companies
- over 150. Private client organisations, unique clients excluding lost or declined assignments.
- analyses
- 216. Analyses carried out in the private sector.
- recovered
- over SEK 192 million. Amount recovered, private sector, since 2005.
- average client relationship
- 4.1 years. Average length of relationship, private sector clients.
Definitions
- Retrospective financial review
- A targeted analysis of historical financial flows to identify, verify and document concrete discrepancies. It differs from a statutory audit in purpose, scope and level of detail.
- VAT compensation
- Compensation for VAT that municipalities and regions are entitled to get back on purchases where VAT cannot be deducted in the usual way, under the VAT Compensation Act.
- VAT recovery
- An everyday term for finding and getting back VAT that has gone wrong, for example missed deductions or the wrong VAT rate. The term is broader than VAT compensation, which applies only to municipalities and regions, and it is often used when municipalities procure the service. At Refero it is part of the VAT and transaction analysis. About VAT and transaction analysis
- Contract compliance
- The extent to which the terms of a contract, for example price, volume and delivery terms, are actually followed in the ongoing invoicing.
- Price compliance
- A subset of contract compliance: the extent to which the invoiced price matches the contract price, at item or service level.
- Recovery audit
- An international term for the review of historical payment flows to identify and recover incorrect payments. Refero primarily uses the term retrospective financial review, which also covers areas of analysis beyond payment flows. Read more about recovery audit and related terms
- Process review
- A broader concept that can cover everything from routines to system support. A retrospective financial review is more narrowly defined: a targeted analysis of historical financial flows to identify and verify concrete discrepancies.
- Financial leakage
- Money that leaves an organisation through discrepancies that are never discovered in the ordinary financial management, for example duplicate payments or missed VAT. The discrepancies are rarely visible in the reports, because the reports are based on the same data in which the discrepancy arose. It is the underlying problem that a retrospective financial review identifies.
Frequently asked questions
Does Refero carry out statutory audits?
No. Refero does not carry out statutory audits. The work is the analysis and verification of historical financial flows, for example VAT, transactions, supplier payments, contract compliance and price compliance.
What does an analysis cost?
It depends on the nature of the assignment. Refero normally works with a results-based fee, where our share is calculated on the amount verified and recovered. There are also assignments at a fixed price, with an initial fee combined with a commission, and pure training. The model is always set out before work begins. With a results-based fee, there is no fee if nothing is verified. The fee is paid out of the money that is actually recovered.
How much time does our organisation need to spend?
The work is designed for a low internal workload. We need access to the relevant data sources and a contact person for coordination. The time you spend should go mainly to decisions, not to producing documentation.
Does Refero work with both the public and the private sector?
Yes. Since 2005, Refero has carried out analyses for municipalities, regions and private companies in, among other areas, industry, retail, property and services.
Last updated: 4 November 2026