Hanoi (VNA) - The State Audit Office of Vietnam (SAV) is highlyregarded by members of the Asian Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions(ASOSAI) for its prestige in public auditing.

Twenty-five years since its foundation, the SAV has posted numerousimportant achievements in public property asset management and financialmanagement, contributing to the country’s development. It was elected ASOSAIChair for the 2018-2024 tenure at the 14th ASOSAI Assembly (ASOSAI 14) ithosted two years ago, affirming its position on the international stage.

ASOSAI 14 adopted the Hanoi Declaration, which demonstrates SAV’scommitment towards ASOSAI’s mission to promote knowledge sharing and capacitybuilding among members, with a focus on environmental auditing for the sustainabledevelopment of countries and the region.

During its over two decades as an ASOSAI member, the SAV has constantlytaken steps to strengthen its role in the organisation’s development whilemaking considerable contributions to international cooperation and capacitybuilding among members. Joint audit operations within ASOSAI have also played acrucial role in reinforcing the friendship and mutual understanding betweenVietnam and other regional members.

Over the past many years, the SAV has provided the State with timely andreliable information regarding the current state of governing mechanisms andinstitutions through its audit services. This creates an important basis forthe Government, ministries, and other governmental bodies to make necessaryamendments to the national legal framework, improve policy making, bolster the effectivenessof budget allocations, and enhance transparency in public financial management.Public assets under the management of ministries, governmental bodies, andlocal administrations have also been audited by the SAV, so as to “closeloopholes” in State budget governance.

From 2013 to 2017, the SAV detected violations involved 195 trillion VND(8.4 billion USD), sent dozens of cases of suspected violations of regulationsin public property and financial management to the police for criminalinvestigation, and provided information and documents to competent authoritiesto support their inspections and legal proceedings.

It has also proposed revising, amending, and cancelling hundreds of financialstatements and documents issued in breach of rules or no longer correspondingwith actual circumstances, to prevent losses and waste.

Chairwoman of the National Assembly Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan has spokenhighly of the SAV, saying that after two decades of development, it hasestablished itself as an important agency in Vietnam’s political system thathelps the legislature effectively supervise the national finances.

She also praised the SAV for learning from international experiencerelevant to Vietnam’s context to build capacity among its team of auditors andadvance the efficiency of new audit areas, such as operational audit, informationtechnology audit, public debt audit, and environmental audit. Its proposals foramending, cancelling, and replacing legal documents that are no longer relevanthave actively contributed to improving the State’s legal institutions andpolicies, the top legislator said.

ASOSAI was founded in 1979 and pursues a mission common among workinggroups of International Organisations of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), that“Professional supreme audit institutions promote good State governance”, and withthe core values of “Professionalism, Cooperation, Equality, Creativity”.

ASOSAI’s goal is to promote mutual understanding and cooperation amongmember SAIs through the exchange of ideas and experience in public auditing,creating favourable conditions for the training of State auditors to improveworking quality and efficiency.

The SAV became a member in 1997. In the initial period of membership,the SAV primarily sent auditors to attend training courses and workshopssponsored by ASOSAI, to enhance professional capacity. Since 2010, the SAV hasundertaken a more active role in the professional activities of ASOSAI./.