Publication of auditing outcomes helps build healthy State financial relations

The press conference to announce the report on auditing outcomes in 2018 (Source: http://chutich.asosai14.vn/)

Hanoi, (VNA) – Following its accession to the Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) in 1997, the State Audit Office of Vietnam (SAV) has actively made public outcomes of auditing operations, including on the mass media.  

The agency considers this an important task which is within the responsibility of the SAV towards the Party, State and people, and at the same time in accordance with the general trend towards healthy State financial relations in the world.

Outstanding outcomes of auditing operations

Twenty five years after its establishment, the State audit sector has fulfilled its functions and tasks to contribute to building a transparent and sustainable State finance, thus consolidating its position and role as an agency supervising public finance and assets.

The SAV has so far made recommendations on handling financial violations involving more than 413 trillion VND (17.8 billion USD at current exchange rate). It has also proposed the revision and replacement of 1,200 legal documents so as to fill in legal loopholes, helping curb financial loss and wastefulness for the State budget.

The SAV’s proposals regarding the revision of mechanisms and policies on public-private partnership, land use, minerals exploitation, taxation, public assets in enterprises and pre-equitisation evaluation of State-owned enterprises have been useful in making the national finances more healthy, tightening financial discipline and perfecting institutions.

Auditing activities conducted by the State audit sector help not only raise the sense of responsibility of all-level administrations, agencies and organisations toward the management and use of public finance and assets, but also increase the effectiveness of the use of public financial resources, curb inflation and maintain the national economy’s stability.

In particular, auditing work has played an important role in discovering and preventing the abuse of authority to cause losses to the State budget, as well as in fighting corruption. The sector has provided hundreds of auditing dossiers to agencies of the National Assembly, the Party Central Committee’s Inspection Commission and other competent agencies to serve the investigation and supervision work.

Publicising auditing outcomes – authority and responsibility of SAV

In accordance with the Government’s Decree 91/2008-ND-CP, the SAV has made public auditing outcomes using various forms such as press conferences, official gazette and mass media, the SAV’s portal and publications, and on demand.

The information made public includes annual reports on auditing of State budget balance and summing up yearly auditing operations along with conclusions and recommendations, reports on the implementation of the SAV’s conclusions and recommendations, and reports of auditing operations (except for classified documents and data).

Since the revised Law on State Audit was adopted by the National Assembly on June 24, 2015, the SAV has been making public information in accordance with this law’s Article 50. The article stipulates that auditing reports should be announced after their issuance, except for content designated as State secret in accordance with the law. The Auditor General is responsible for organizing the publicizing of audit reports  in the forms of press conference, public gazette and mass media, the SAV’s portal and publications, and posting at the headquarters of audited units. This is the legal foundation for the Auditor General to exercise the right of publicity of the SAV.

Publicised auditing outcomes attract public interest

The information made public by the SAV always attracts attention of agencies, organisations and individuals, as well as the mass media from central to local levels. Based on this source of information, the media has reliable grounds to launch reports on the management and use of public finance and assets of agencies and localities and violations of regulations.

Some examples of violations detected by the SAV are the salaries at public utility companies in Ho Chi Minh City, the collection of overdue excise duty owed by Sabeco and Habeco, and finances at BT and BOT projects.

As seen in reality, the publicizing of auditing information by the SAV is appreciated by both competent agencies and the public, as it allows the public and elected bodies to evaluate the impacts of the State’s policies and make suggestions for suitable adjustments and timely decisions.

The publicised information also put pressure on audited bodies and competent agencies to correct their mistakes, and help deter negative phenomena in state financial activities./.