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Refero

Insights

What we know, and why.

Short texts about discrepancies we see repeatedly, and what causes them. We explain. We do not sell.

VAT

VAT compensation for municipalities: what is covered and when it is too late

Municipalities and regions can receive compensation for VAT they are not allowed to deduct. This is what is covered, what is not covered and which time limits apply to applications and reconsideration.

Method

Duplicate payments in the accounts payable ledger: how they happen and how to find them afterwards

A duplicate payment is when the same supplier debt is paid more than once. These are the most common patterns, why systems miss them and how to find them afterwards.

Method

Recovery audit in Sweden: what the Swedish terms mean, and how the work differs from internal review functions

What recovery audit, VAT recovery and financial leakage mean in Sweden, how the Swedish terms are used, and how the work differs from internal review functions and statutory audit.

Case studies

Three years of supplier payments in a Swedish municipality: high quality and just over 800 discrepancies

We went through all supplier payments in a Swedish municipality for 2023 to 2025. More than 99.8% of the transactions were without remark, and almost all discrepancies concerned VAT compensation.

Contracts and pricing

Contract compliance in practice: what a review of a service contract showed

We followed up a municipal service contract order by order. The supplier largely kept to the contract, but three in four invoices lacked the order number that the contract requires.

Method

What does it mean to review internal and external processes?

Internal processes are ones an organisation controls itself. External processes involve counterparties such as suppliers or authorities. The difference decides what a review can actually check.

Method

Why invoices that have already been paid deserve a second review

Most organisations put large resources into controlling future costs, but considerably less into checking what has already been paid.

Procurement

What separates a serious provider from an opportunist in retrospective analysis?

The market for retrospective transaction analyses has grown quickly. That makes it harder, not easier, to tell who can actually deliver.

Contracts and pricing

The contract price is not always the invoiced price.

A signed contract regulates what is to be invoiced. It does not ensure that this is what is actually invoiced. This is how price discrepancies arise.

Method

What is the difference between a statutory audit and a retrospective financial review?

The two terms are often confused but answer different questions. This is the distinction, and why it matters for what you actually order.

Method

A finance system shows what was recorded. Not always what happened.

Bookkeeping describes a recorded event, not necessarily the financial reality behind it. The difference is where discrepancies arise.

Contracts and pricing

It pays to keep control of contracts and purchasing

Why contracts are not always kept in practice, which discrepancies are common and how the risk can be reduced.

Contracts and pricing

Item-level analysis: lower costs and better supplier relationships

What a regular item-level analysis of price and contract terms means, what it gives, which risks exist without it and how Refero works with it.

Case studies

A tax-correct solution that produced SEK 14 million in savings

When Mönsterås Municipality built the property Solhem, the VAT question became decisive for the rent. This is how a tax-correct solution was developed.

VAT

VAT analysis: the risks of not analysing regularly

VAT analysis means reviewing closed financial years to find discrepancies and recover funds. These are some of the risks of not doing it regularly in municipalities and the public sector.

More articles are available in Swedish. Read in Swedish