Auditor General Ho Duc Phoc (Photo: VNA) Talking to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), Auditor General HoDuc Phoc highlighted the efforts made by the SAV as the ASOSAI Chair to leadthe 14th ASOSAI Assembly to adopt the Hanoi Declaration with ameaningful message of “Environmental Audit for Sustainable Development” in 2018.
Right after the declaration was approved, the SAV activelyworked with the National Audit Office of China – the ASOSAI Secretary General –to build the organisation’s Plan of Action for the 2018-2021 tenure, with fivemain tasks: Auditing newly-emerging issues, response to climate change andenvironmental pollution challenges in the regional and global scales, thefourth Industrial Revolution and digital transformation, the role of SupremeAudit Institutions (SAIs) in successfully implementing national targets andprogrammes, and increasing knowledge sharing and improving the audit capacityof SAIs.
Being aware of the risk of losing water sources security,sea level rise and saltwater intrusion which are seriously affecting the MekongRiver in general and Vietnam’s Mekong Delta in particular, the SAV chairedcooperative environmental audit on water management in the Mekong River Basinin combination with the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
With its high determination, the SAV has received consensusand engagement of the SAIs of Thailand and Myanmar, as well as technicalassistance from prestigious international experts, the World Bank, and the SAIsof Indonesia and Malaysia.
On December 22, 2020, three SAIs of Vietnam, Thailand, andMyanmar signed a statement of commitments and terms of reference for thecooperative audit, agreeing on an action plan for its organisation.
Accordingly, they pledged to focus on identifying theresponsibilities of related countries in the implementation of the SGDs, andassess their contributions to commitments on water sources management, use, andprotection in the Mekong River basin.
In addition, the SAV initiated and produced a documentaryfilm “ASOSAI for sustainable development”, which will be screened at the 15th ASOSAIAssembly in Thailand this year. The film, which has received enthusiasticsupport from members of the ASOSAI’s Governing Board, aims to popularise andacknowledge ASOSAI’s contributions to promoting and realising sustainabledevelopment goals under the Hanoi Declaration.
Along with the ASOSAI, the SAV has actively and responsiblyparticipated in activities of the International Organisation of Supreme AuditInstitutions (INTOSAI) as a representative of its Regional Working Group.
To become a model regional working group and boostinter-regional cooperation, the SAV has represented ASOSAI to attend the 11th Assembly of the Caribbean Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (CAROSAI)and the 23rd INTOSAI Assembly in Russia.
In 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, many internationalcooperation activities were postponed and cancelled. The SAV actively adjustedactivities and organized them in the online format. Of note, it successfully hostedthe 55th meeting of the ASOSAI Governing Board via videoconference,which was appreciated by member SAIs.
The ASOSAI, founded in 1979, pursues a common mission likeother working groups of the INTOSAI, that is “Professional supreme auditinstitutions promote good State governance” and with the core values of“Professionalism, Cooperation, Equality, Creativity”.
The ASOSAI’s goal is to promote mutual understanding andcooperation among member SAIs through the exchange of ideas and experience inpublic auditing, creating favourable conditions for the training of Stateauditors to improve working quality and efficiency.
The SAV became a member of ASOSAI in 1997. In the firstperiod of the membership, the SAV mainly sent auditors to attend trainingcourses and workshops sponsored by ASOSAI to enhance professional capacity.Since 2010, the SAV has undertaken a more active role in professionalactivities of ASOSAI./.
VNA
