Vietnamese Auditor General and Chair of ASOSAI for 2018 - 2021 Tran Sy Thanh (Photo: VietnamPlus) Hanoi (VNA) – The Governing Board of the Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) held its 56th meeting in Hanoi on September 6 under the chair of Vietnamese Auditor General and Chair of ASOSAI for 2018 - 2021 Tran Sy Thanh and Chinese Auditor General Hou Kai, Secretary General of ASOSAI.
Reform to overcome challenges
The meeting focused on important issues of ASOSAI, including a report on the organisation’s financial situation, another on the implementation of the ASOSAI Strategic Plan for 2016 - 2021, a draft strategic plan for 2022 - 2027, and reports by working groups, especially the newly established ones on auditing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and crisis management.
In addition to the report on the preparation for the 15th ASOSAI Assembly, the State Audit Office of Thailand (SAI Thailand) proposed the Bangkok Declaration 2021 with the theme of “SAIs and preparations for the new normal”.
According to SAI Thailand, the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped the future of public sector audits, leading to new reforms under the challenges posed by the new normal. While the pandemic is hampering public sector audits, it creates opportunities for growth in the new normal, particularly in leveraging remote audits and work-from-home technologies.
The representative of the State Audit Office of Malaysia proposed setting up a special committee to study the feasibility of establishing a working group on auditing state-owned enterprises.
Environmental audit for sustainable development
Reporting on the implementation of the Hanoi Declaration during 2018-2021, Director of the SAV’s Department of International Cooperation Nguyen Ba Dung stated that the document was endorsed by the 14th ASOSAI Assembly, hosted by Vietnam in 2018, with the theme “Environmental Audit for Sustainable Growth".
The declaration has become an important part of ASOSAI's strategic vision for development, with the aim of realising the sustainable development goals of the United Nations.
SAIs have conducted 35 audits on sustainable development goals in the 2018-2021 period (Photo: VietnamPlus) According to Dung, from the 16 reports of the 14 SAIs out of the 47 members, one Committee and one Working Group of the ASOSAI, a total of 60 environmental audits have been carried out mainly in the form of operational audits, with diverse and inclusive topics in almost all environmental fields, such as air, sea and water resource quality management; waste treatment, medical waste management; management of imported scrap and renewable energies; and nature conservation, desertification prevention, climate change, biodiversity and soil degradation.
In addition, SAIs also conducted 35 audits on sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the 2018-2021 period, which focus on areas of great significance, such as improving the efficiency of health care and providing welfare services to people, boosting sustainable development in public education, providing sustainable food security, promoting sustainable national financial management, and sustainable management of population and demographic policies.
200,000 USD funded to help member SAIs to cope with COVID-19
The ASOSAI fund for COVID-19 response, worth 200,000 USD, has been deployed, helping member SAIs to cope with the pandemic.
Chinese Auditor General Hou Kai, Secretary General of ASOSAI (Photo: VietnamPlus) Concluding the event, Auditor General Tran Sy Thanh said since the 54th meeting of the Governing Board, the Chair, the Secretary General, and members of the board have exerted efforts to achieve the targets and carry out the recommendations set out in the Hanoi Declaration on environmental auditing, realise the SDGs, and implement the programmes, projects, and activities for the last three years of the ASOSAI Strategic Plan for 2016 - 2021.
The Governing Board approved the establishment of the ASOSAI working groups on auditing the SDGs and crisis management. It also elected the Supreme Audit Institution of India as the Chair of the 16th ASOSAI Assembly for the 2024 - 2027 tenure.
The mission, vision, core values, strategic targets, and priorities of the organisation stated in the ASOSAI Strategic Plan for 2022 - 2027 also received high consensus from the Governing Board’s members.
The outcomes of the Governing Board's 56th meeting proved that ASOSAI is a professional organisation of cooperation, integration, and reform that is ready to cope with unceasing changes in the region and the world, he added./.
